Bonds
by spargos
Summary: What if destiny no longer wove the threads of fate for Ranma and Usagi?
1. Default Chapter

  
Destiny looked down upon the lower realm feeling content that all was procedding as planned. Serenity was proceeding to her throne and her dream of Crystal Tokyo would finally be fulfilled.   
Their last enemy now defeated, Serenity would now develop into the queen that she was always meant to be. At her side her were loyal friends and her beloved Endymion. Resting back into her chair, Destiny closed her eyes and relaxed a bit.  
  
"Destiny!" A commanding voice startled Destiny out of her reviere.   
  
"Almighty!" Destiny said as a beam of light materialized before her.  
  
"Fate has just pointed something out to me!" The Almighty's voice shook the very core of her being. "How could you manipulate the course of events to create a world of your own desire?"  
  
"But Almighty! This is what humans are destined for... With Crystal Tokyo they will have peace, order and happiness. I don't understand why you are so angry!" Destiny reasoned with the Almighty.  
  
"Destiny, everything in this universe has a balance. There can be no order without chaos, no happiness without sadness, and no peace without violence." The Almighty's voice said in a gentler tone. "Humans will drift to their destiny that they have created for themselves, whether it is self-destruction or peace and happiness, it is not for us to decide."  
  
"Then why was I created?" Destiny asked "If people were to choose their own destiny, why was there such thing as destiny?" None of this made any sense, Her creator had just told her that her very existence was not necessary.   
  
"You were created to provide people with a choice, not to manipulate them into a set path." The Almighty said. "I cannot change the past, however from now on you do not interfere with people, you will only embody their choices." The Almighty said as the light began to fade away.  
  
"But nothing can be done about Crystal Tokyo, it will come into being, every possible path has guarenteed it! There is nothing left to do now, the necessary path has been set." Destiny told her mentor and creator.  
  
"Destiny for as long as you have lived, you still do not understand humans and why they are so special." The Almighty's voice said gently as the light died out.  
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The sun was shining brightly in the land of the Rising Sun. The leaves swayed to the delicate morning breeze as birds gently glided through the air. In the ward of Juuban a young couple strolled down the street. Hand in hand, the young girl chattered animatedly as her companion stayed silent, only smiling and watching his companion. As they walked by a ice cream shoppe, the girl had stopped and pointed to the store.  
  
"Mamo-chan, let's go in! I'm just dying for a taste of their double fudge brownie sundae with whipped cream and a cherry on top!" Usagi exclaimed.  
  
"Sure Usako, but you know you have to watch that girlish figure of yours." Mamouru chided as his hyperactive girlfriend dragged him into the store. At the counter, Usagi ordered her favorite sundae as Mamouru ordered a small cone of vanilla. Taking a seat, Usagi began to discuss their summer plans. After the defeat of Galaxia, everything had quietted down. Usagi and her friends just finished their second year of high school. Ami was currently working in the hospital with her mother. Mina had gone off to a volleyball camp for four weeks. Rei had gone off to to a conference in Kyoto with her grandfather. Lita also left to participate in a culinary school for a four weeks. The outer senshi left Japan to see America, hoping that the vacation would bring some peace their minds. Mamouru and Usagi were the only two remaining in Juuban from the old gang. Taking this time they tried to discuss the future of their relationship.  
  
"Mamo-chan! Are you listening?"  
Snapping to the voice of his girlfriend, Mamoru looked over to her pouty face. Smiling to himself, he turned his full attention to her."Yes, I'm listening."  
"This break is going to nothing but peace and quiet for me!" Usagi exclaimed as she leaned back in her chair and stretched.   
"Well maybe for a meatball head like yourself," he said as he poked at her unusual hair style. "but for people who work it's a busy summer."  
  
With a smile on her face Usagi snuggled up next to her beloved. "Now now, haven't you ever heard the saying that all work and no fun makes Mamo-chan a dull boy?"  
Patting her hair, Mamouru let his head rest upon the back of the booth. This summer was their summer, maybe they could even finally bring their relationship into the open with her parents. "Say Usako, do you think that maybe it's time that your parents know about me?"  
Tensing slightly, her smile falling a bit, she thought about the reactions of her parents. "I'm not sure Mamo-chan. What if they disapprove? I don't want to upset my parents."  
"We have to tell them sometime if we are to have an honest relationship. That is what you want isn't it?"  
"Of course," frowning a bit, Usagi wrestled over her parent's reaction and her relationship with her Mamo-chan. "We will tell them. How about at dinner? We'll bring it out into the open."  
"When? I will be busy with work until next week."  
"We'll tell them next weekend. just the two of us."  
"Alright Usako, next week it is." Mamoru said as he kissed the top of her head.  
  
As soon as he relaxed a bit the whispers and gossips started.   
"Look at those two."  
"Preposterous."   
"He is so much older than she is."   
"Young people these days." Wincing, Mamoru tried to block those voices out of his head. Looking around he saw three middle age women and an elderly woman sitting at a table not to far from their own.   
"He must have money and she needs money for her family."  
"What a sickening and perverted man."  
"Taking advantage of such a young girl."  
"Pedophilist." by now he felt his temperature rising. How dare they! They didn't know how many trials it had taken them to get to where they are.  
"Mamo-chan? Is there something wrong?" Usagi asked as she felt him tense.  
"No nothing at all. Let's get out of here."  
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The next day a few blocks away, a young man streaked across the tops of buildings through the city. Dressed in a red chinese tunic and black draw string kung fu pants, the young man glided from rooftop to rooftop. From the streets people could see the whites of his teeth as he smiled brightly. It was a good day for the young Grandmaster of The Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. A lot had changed in five years. Graduating high school with support from his fiancee and his mother and entering Tokyo college was the best experience in the world. In his entire life he had only known the Art, however just following the physical and immediate benefits of the Art had been his failing.  
  
His mother showed him the errors of his thinking. To be a true martial artist he had to not only excel in battle but intellectually. After many days and weeks of badgering, not to mention dozens of threats mallets and katanas, he finally focused upon his schooling. To his surprise by applying the same self-discipline that made him the warrior to his school work allowed his grades to improve greatly. Finding his interest in computers, he became very proficient in the ways of technology. Upon entering college he became well known on campus for his mastery of the Art as well as his expertise in the cutting edge field of computers.   
  
Behind all of his sucess was Akane and his mother. Akane had joined him at college majoring in drama and dance. The two were inseperable, except recently. After all the cramming and hard work, Ranma was now graduating a year early. But today it would all pay off. His last test of his college career was over and graduation was ticking down. Today he had the entire day planned with Akane. Hopping down from a building he strolled into a florist.  
  
At the counter a young girl tended to the flowers behind the counter. As she heard the bell of the door ring she looked up to see the young master of Anything Goes."M-may I help you?"  
"I'd like a dozen of your freshest roses." Ranma said with a smile.  
"Of course," scurrying along she picked a dozen roses from the bunch that she had just recieved this morning. " For a friend?"  
"Fiancee."  
"Oh." The girl looked downcast at that announcement. Of course a man as beautiful as him would be taken. She just didn't have much luck with men, they all seemed to be taken or attracted to her best friend Usagi.  
Looking at the downcast girl Ranma decided to cheer her up. "Fear not fair maiden, were I not spoken for, I would court thee in an instant." After befriending Kuno while at college, he had picked up some of the swordsman's Shakespearian speech.  
Blushing deeply, Naru put her hand to her cheeks to ensure that her face was not burning too much. Gathering up the dozen roses, she handed them to the man.  
"How much do I owe you?" Ranma asked.   
"The compliment you gave was payment enough." Naru said with as much courage as she could muster.   
Smiling Ranma took out a business card. Slipping it to her across the counter he exited the store. "If I can ever return the favor."  
As soon as he left, Naru looked down at the card.   
  
Ranma Saotome  
Senior Executive  
Chairman of Saotome-Tendo Corporations  
  
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Racing along the streets Ranma hurried to the dorm where Akane had lived for the past three years. Running right past some of the girls at the door, he ran up to the eighth floor. For the past two months he had barely seen Akane because of all the work of school and coordinating with Nabiki to setup their own corporation. Today was the beginning of a new day, it was the beginning of their future. Reaching her room, Ranma knocked upon her door.  
  
"Be right there!" a voice called from inside. Patiently waiting at the door Ranma could barely hold back from bursting into the room. After what seem like a lifetime the door finally opened to reveal a much more mature Akane Tendo. The years had weeded out the baby fat on her body to reveal a tone slender body. For the past two years she had been growing her hair longer, it now hung to the small of her back.  
  
"Ranma! Are you finally done with your finals?"  
Walking into the room, Ranma held her hands in his."Today was the last one! When are you going to be done with your finals?"  
"I still have an extra week. The play that I've been working on for the past three months will determine my final grade for a class." Akane said as she sat down on her bed. "You are coming aren't you?"  
"With bells on."  
"Huh?"  
"An American saying," Ranma said as he took a seat next to her." anyways, I wanted to tell you something. Nabiki and I have finally-"  
"Hey Akane, the bathrooms in Japan are definately going to be one of things I miss when I leave." said a tall dark hair American as he walked in. Looking at the scene, he quickly held up his hands. "Oops didn't know you had company."  
Getting off the bed, Akane ushered the young man in. "Ranma, this is Brian Gibbs. Brian, this is Ranma, my fiance." She said as she introduced the two. "Brian is my partner in the play next week. We were going to rehearse right before you walked in."  
Nodding, Ranma stood. "Of course, we all have a GPA to maintain don't we? I'll just wait until you are free of your finals, then I'll tell you."  
"Are you sure?" Akane asked with a frown.  
"Yes, I've got to get over to Nabiki's she's got some paper work for a new job that we've got to go over." he said with a gentle smile. "But walk with me to the door."  
"Okay." Quickly, she turned around to grab her keys. "Bri, why don't you start warming up, I'll just be right back."  
  
As the two walked down hallway, Akane fidgeted with her keys."Is there something wrong?" Ranma asked.  
Looking surprised, Akane slowly nodded."Yes, Ranma there's something I need to tell you." Tucking her hair behind her ears, Akane took a deep breath. "In the play that I'm performing in with Brian, there is going to be a few ... rather intimate scenes."  
"Meaning..."  
"We have to... kiss each other a few times." Akane said with a heavy voice.  
Ranma eyed his fiancee gently. Carressing her face with his right hand, Ranma savoured the feeling. Tilting her chin to his own, he lean in closely. "Akane I've told you three years ago, when we first came into college. I trust you completely and with all my heart. Acting sometimes calls for intimate scenes, and if these scenes make you a better actress, then I have no problem with them. So you have nothing to worry about."  
"Ranma..."  
"Shhh..."Leaning even closer, Ranma kissed her gently. It was like heaven for him, she just tasted so sweet that he could stay in that position for hours and be content. After a few minutes, Akane broke the kiss.   
"Oh Ranma..."   
Standing back upright again, Ranma hugged her. "I will see you in a week." Walking out the front door, he whisted a happy tune.  
Looking whistfully at the fading form, Akane sighed heavily. "Ranma... I hope I am worthy of your trust."  
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The stars glistened like diamonds in the night as Usagi and Mamouru walked down the street. Their summer had been filled with joy and passion, and tonight was no exception. After dinner at a beautiful French restaurant, they strolled through a garden. To Usagi it felt as if they were back on the moon, Princess Serenity and her prince Endymion side by side. Tonight they had been celebrating the anouncement that Mamouru was up for a promotion.  
  
Leaning into her prince's arm, Usagi enjoyed the warmth of his body. "Mamo-chan? Have you been thinking of marriage? I know I am still young... but I was hoping that we would start thinking about the possibility."  
  
"It is too soon to be thinking about such things," Mamoru replied in a tired voice. "I mean we haven't even announced to your parents that we are dating." Thinking back to all the attempts that had failed these past few weeks, Mamoru was beginning to think that they would never be able to talk to her parents.  
  
"I know, we will soon... But seriously if we did get married after I graduated high school, where would we live? How many children would you want to have?"  
  
"Well Usako, we would have to live in my apartment. Unless I get this promotion, then perhaps we can buy a house. As for children I think it is a little too early for that... besides we already know how many children we will have, one." Mamoru answered her questions with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. Deep inside, he knew that they couldn't get married now. It would probably happen when she assumed the title of Neo-Queen Serenity.  
  
"Mmmm... I think that I would like to take a year off from school as soon as I finish high school... Maybe travel a bit." Usagi said in a dreamy voice. Her thoughts drifted off as she saw herself in France taking romantic walks along the beautiful streets of France. In Greece enjoying the sites of the ruins, basking under the beautiful Meditteranean weather.  
Even in America, all the beautiful cities to visit. In new York City to see a Broadway Play, to shop in one of the most industrial cities in the world; it would be a dream come true.  
  
"Now Usagi, we all have dreams, but not everyone is destined to be Queen of the World. You had better go to school and learn to become knowledgable. A Queen wouldn't be ignorant and uneducated. You would also have to train yourself to be less clumsy. I mean your ascension onto the throne is not too far off... There is a lot that you have to do before you become the Queen. I think that long term travelling is out of the question." Mamoru looked into the night sky. There was so much they had to do before she became Queen.  
  
"Mamo-chan why are you so concerned about the ascension? It will come when it comes. It will be a natural process, why worry about it?" Usagi said unhappily. Here she was pouring her heart out about their future and her dreams, and he was dismissing all her comments.  
  
"Usako, things aren't as easy as you make it out to be. We can do all those things after we settle into being King and Queen. By then we will have stability and can do anything we want. Right now we need stability. You'll understand when you get older."  
  
Pushing away from her boyfriend, she frowned at him. "Mamo-chan you are acting like a strict parent. Why? "  
  
Feeling his temper rise a bit, Mamoru fought down the urge to yell at her ingnorance. How could she understand his pain that he had to go through. When his parents died, he was left with nothing, everything was in chaos. Stability was the key to everything in order to suceed. "Look Usagi, you won't understand. Just forget it."  
  
Frowning, she opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. "I want to go home."  
  
"Fine."  
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Six months had passed since Ranma had graduated from Tokyo University. He was already causing a stir in the computer business. The Saotome-Tendo Corp was becoming a larger by the minute. The senior project that Ranma had turned in for his degree turned out to be a fantastic boost in the medical field. By incorporating his knowledge of the human body and ancient healing arts, he developed machine that could detect the chi flow of a body. By developing this technology, diseases that may not manifest itself until too late are revealed. Of course there are still quite a bit of skeptcism towards his machine. However, Ranma had full confidence that this machine would revolutionize the medical field. But not only was Ranma working on that project, but he had also developed a revolutionary computer processor. Based on the foundation of the human brain, he developed a processor that would imitate the fundamentals of a brain. His accomplishments were causing quite a bit of a stir in the entire world. Large corporations had already been trying to recruit him since his second year in college. Nonetheless, even with all these accomplishments, Ranma seemed to always have time for his fiancee.  
  
"Akane! Over here!" Waving like a maniac in the middle of an airport terminal, Ranma motioned for his beloved. Akane smiled at him, and hurried over. Rushing to meet her, he swept her body into his arms and swung her around.  
"Ranma!" Akane said breathlessly. "I missed you too!"  
"Oh Akane! Our dreams are coming true right before our eyes." Ranma held her tight. It had been too long. After his trip to America, Akane had left to go to England to perform in a play with a company. Her term with the company had finally ended a few days ago, and she rushed home to Japan.  
"Ranma, come on, let's go home." Akane said when her fiancee finally put her down. Walking to the baggae claim area, Ranma held her close to him, never letting go.  
"So how was England?"   
"It was fabulous, Brian and I had such a great time acting in England. The culture there is so rich and fast paced, yet there was so much history there. I went to visit some smaller villages around the country sides, and the castles were amazing. I honestly think that some of the things we saw were straight out of a fairy tale." Akane listed on. Her experience in England was once in a lifetime, but while there she had come to a conclusion. Nothing beat her home. She wanted to settle down.  
  
"Fabulous, I saw you perform a month ago. I must say, you and Brian make a great pair on stage. I was almost crying a certain parts of the show." Ranma said sincerely. He had flown over there with Nabiki to speak to some bankers. However, as soon as the plane was over, they had to come back to Japan for a crisis.  
  
"Really?! I think I got the flowers that you sent me. They were beautiful, thank you." Akane smiled beautifully at Ranma. The arrangement of wild orchids had decorated her dressing room for a few weeks. To her they were her good luck charms, by plucking one everytime she went into stage, she knew she would give a great performance.  
  
"Your welcome, but Akane there is something i need to tell you..." Ranma said excitedly as he guided her out of the airport and into a limo waiting outside.  
  
Holding her breath, Akane crossed her fingers hoping that Ranma wouldn't say what she wanted to hear. "What is it Ranma?"  
  
"As of today, you are looking at the man who has now broken through the market of computer software. Today, I signed the papers for the new division of software, and our profits will be expected to soar." Ranma clasped her hand in his own and looked her deeply in the eyes. "Soon, we will be able to start on our lives together. Nabiki has it all laid out, in a couple years we will be large enough to start threatening markets over in America."  
  
"That's great Ranma!" Akane said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. For some reason she couldn't feel as excited as she thought she should feel about it.  
  
"I know Akane, in a few years we will be able to settle down! I can become a passive part of ST Corp, and we can have a house in the mountains. Just think, three years and we will have everything we want."   
  
"Of course Ranma." I wonder what Brian is doing right now.  
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Two full years has passed, not as anyone had ever expected it to. Ranma had thrown himself into his training and work, only stopping when he spent time with Akane. ST Corp was now a major force to contend with. Owning dozens of smaller dot com companies, medical engineering firms, in addition to it's multi-billion dollar software producing firm, and most importantly it's new conceptual computers were taking over corporate systems in a storm. What was once a 2 person company now consisted of several hundred thousand employees. However that would all change, for without Destiny to stand in the way, things were bound to go astray.  
  
It was a cool summer's night in San Francisco, ST Corp was holding a banquet for the newly appointed leader of China. Much had happened in the historic country of China in the past six years. The downfall of Communism and the uprising of several political leaders, for two years all was in chaos. China was threatening to break into provinces again. Until a firm leader stepped forward to take the reins of power. Along with a group of generals and advisors, the recently crowned leader of China, Herb the IX, gained the trust and respect of the people. As an old friend of his, Ranma decided to endorse Herb's newly appointed position by celebrating in festivities. Sitting in banquet hall, Ranma actively chatted with Herb.  
  
"It is good to see that we have risen in the world so much." Herb said with a rare smile. "You are still the only man to best me in combat. We will have to have a rematch someday."  
  
Smirking, Ranma leaned in close to Herb. "You're on. But surely your wife has bested you in some sort of combat." Motioning to the young wife of Herb, Plum. "I mean to have change you from the pompous young man you once were, it is truly her influence, is it not?"  
"Aye it is," Herb sighed. "Is my feminine side showing that much?" With a smile in his eyes, he grinned. "But all jest aside, my dear wife has changed me as much as your humbling did. Causing me to realized that I am not the best and that there are other ways of thinking other than my own."  
"Well look where it's gotten you. It does my heart well that you have also formed an alliance between the Amazons and the the regional monarchs from the provinces. I see that Kirin is among them." Ranma pointed to the aqua green hair monarch and his spit-fire orange hair wife, Lychee. "How did you get them to all agree?"  
"Ah... that is a secret, but enough about myself. How goes your relationship with the fair Akane Tendo?" With a raised eyebrow, Herb looked behind Ranma. " She seems quite popular with the cameras does she not?"  
Turning around, Ranma's heart melted at the sight of Akane dressed in a beautiful blue dress smiling and chatting with the reporters. "Our relationship is progressing, she is now starring in a set of movies due out by Christmas."  
"Excellent, I always knew that you two were destined for each other. For why else would you have decimated Mt. Phoenix?"  
"It was the only way for her to live, and for that I will do anything." Ranma said with determination.  
"It was destiny that brought you two together, and destiny which will keep you two together." Herb stated ominously.  
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Sitting in the car, the night flowing by the minutes. The tall, dark and handsome reporter, Mamoru sped down the highway to the gala. He was already running late due to his girlfriend, and his composure ruined due to the cop that had pulled him over earlier. All in all today was a bad day. In the back seat, Usagi stared out the window catching glimpses of San Franciso. She was now 19 and exploring the world where ever her Mamo-chan traveled.  
  
"Mamo-chan! Can we please go sightseeing tommorrow? There is so much to do here!" Usagi felt so full of life. For the past year, she had been living with Mamoru because her parents moved to America after her father was relocated by his company ST Corp. The year was full of its ups and downs. The sailors had become a tighter group, however with the graduation of high school, they had each gone their seperate ways. Each had come to America to study in colleges. Even little Hotaru had come to America with Haruka, Setsuna, and Michiru. It was her intent to see Rei, Ami and Mina since she was on the west coast of America.  
  
"We'll see Usagi, i have a lot to do tomorrow, I need to write up what interviews I get at the gala tomorrow and send it to my boss back at the office." Mamoru seething inwardly on how nonchalant Usagi was about the pressure he was under.  
  
"Oh... well, I'll see if I can find Rei, Ami and Mina then." Looking out the window she saw the immense palace that the gala was being held in. Eyes wide open, she quickly smoothed her dress out and got ready to exit the car. As Mamoru pulled up to the valet, he quicky showed his invitation. Stepping out of the car as the valet opened the door for her, she was smiling from ear to ear. This was heavenly. Taking Mamoru's arm, they quickly hurried inside.  
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Inside, Akane chatted animately with the reporters from around the globe. They were all asking about her relationship with Ranma and asking when they were getting married. She was in her element right now, being an up coming and rising star, she was used to all the reporters and their question. She was glad to be among her old friends from China again. It almost felt like a reunion. Kirin, Lychee, Toma, and Herb were here celebrating their rise to power. Even the Amazon tribe was here. Shampoo, Mousse and his new wife, even Cologne was here, for some reason she felt guilty on the inside. Tonight she would tell Ranma. It has been going on for long enough. After the gala, she would tell him.  
  
A gentle tap on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts. Behind her Ranma stood in a black tuxedo and a mischevious smile on his face. "Excuse me gentlemen, I'm afraid I must steal my fiancee away from you now." Guiding her away from the reporters, Ranma held Akane close to his body. "Are you having fun Akane?"  
"Of course, I'm so glad that everyone could be here. We haven't seen them in such a long time." Akane said sincerely.  
"Even Shampoo?"  
"Even Shampoo. I never really hated her that much. It was just a simple rivalry."   
"Good because her and ther friends are staying at the house..." Ranma said fearing the worst. Even though Akane had calmed down a great deal since the incident with Saffron, she still had outbursts of violence at times. Shampoo was usually a sore subject for her due to their rivalry and the fact that Shampoo always belittled her at every chance available.  
"The house? No, I don't mind. But we need to talk tonight, there's something I need to tell you. Something very important we need to discuss." She said in a serious tone. There were only a few times when she would get like this. One time was when they had a scare their freshman year and the other times where when they had a serious discussion about their relationship.  
"Okay, we'll talk later on tonight." As they took a seat together next to Herb, Ranma leaned over to his fiancee and cupped her cheek. Turning Akane her face to his, he looked deep into her eyes and whispered. "I love you." Drawing her into a deep embrace, Ranma pour all his love into her.  
"Oh Ranma... I'm so sorry." Akane thought as she systematically returned his kiss but not returning the love he had given her.  
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From the distance, a pair of ancient wizened eyes looked at the 'loving couple' embrace. So long had she hoped that her own Shampoo would be in that picture, but all of that hope had died when Ranma finally took responsibility for his actions and cancelled all of the engagements and proposed to Akane almost six years ago. Since then, he had prospered greatly and became a leader in the world. She was not surprised when this happened, when she had met him, she had never met somebody who's aura of confidence was so strong. He was born to lead. What amazed her was that even though he had risen in the modern world, he did not forget his martial training. In fact, his skills seem undeterminable, but they were far greater that his younger days. She wouldn't be surprised if he could carve off Mt. Phoenix again and not think twice about it. The boy.. no man would lead this world into it's next ascension. She could feel it. But there was one thing that could stop him. The once bright red line of love that burned between himself and the woman he was embracing has faded. His end glowed brighter than ever, however her end has dimished to barely anything and another red line had formed leading away from the gala.  
  
"That poor boy, I just hope this doesn't destroy him. It's a good thing we are staying at his house tonight. Perhaps we can cushion the blow..." Cologne thought to herself. She was currently in her younger form.   
  
"Great-Grandma... what is wrong?" a sensuous voice asked her. Turning around, Cologne face her grand daughter Shampoo. The years had also changed her, she was now a apprentice to become the next leader of the tribe. With her connection to Herb, they would now be able to look forward to a prosperous future.  
  
"Nothing child, the night is young, why are you not socializing with the men? You do understand that you do not yet have a husband." Cologne admonished.  
  
Flipping her hair back, Shampoo turned her nose up towards the crowd of men leering at her. "All of these males are weak. None of them will ever compare to Ranma."  
  
"Child, no one compares to Ranma."  
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Entering the gala, Usagi's eyes grew wider by the second. She had never been to anything this formal, unless she included her past life. Everything look like something out of a fantasy book. Holding onto Mamoru's arm, Usagi smiled brightly. Everything reminded her of the parties that were held back on the moon. She would walk down the cascade of stairs, and at the bottom of the stairs her prince was waiting her. Closing her eyes, Usagi imagined she was back on the moon and everyone stopped for her entrance.  
  
"Usagi! Snap out of it!"   
A sharp voice commanded her. Opening her eyes, she quickly looked up to her beloved. "Mamo-chan, doesn't this remind you of the Moon-kingdom? When we would enter the ball together-"   
"Usagi, now I have a lot of work to do, if you could just wait after the gala to tell me, then that would be great." Mamoru said, brushing her comment off.   
"But Mamo-chan I want to dance and have fun. That is why we are here isn't it?" Usagi pouted. Her beloved had been like this for the past year, always working, almost never having time for just the two of them.  
Rolling his eyes, Mamoru sighed. It was times like these that his princess could be so very annoying. "Usagi, you know I would love to dance the night away, but I need this next promotion, otherwise we may have to adjust the budget around the house."  
"But-"  
Cutting her off, Mamoru guided her to her seat and sat her down. "No, I need to get an interview, now please behave and sit here. There's plenty of food and champagne, practice what you learned in etiquette school."  
"Okay." Usagi said quietly. It seemed that recently most of their conversations proceeded this way. Sometimes she would speak up and argue with him, but it would just end with the both of them not speaking to each other for a few days. Looking as her beloved left her sitting at a table by herself, she wondered if they would ever be able to return to how they were before.  
"Excuse me?" A gentle voice prodded from behind her.   
Startled, Usagi turned to see a middle-age woamn wearing a kimono holding a long wrapped bundle. "Yes?"   
"I couldn't but over hear the argument between your boyfriend and yourself."  
Embarassed, Usagi looked down to compose herself. "I'm sorry I've disturbed your evening with our arguement." looking at the woman, she could help but feel drawn into her eyes. They felt so calm and made her feel so warm, as if her mother was around.  
The woman took a seat next to Usagi and patted Usagi's hands. "Oh don't worry, I just wanted to know if you were okay."  
"I'm fine. Mamo-chan is just a bit stressed from being passed up on a promotion last year." Usagi explained.  
"Really? Why was he passed over?"   
Wincing, Usagi looked down. "Because the executives thought that because he was ten years my elder, our relationship would give the company a bad image."  
"I see. But even though he stayed with you, things changed didn't it?" The woman's words seemed so measured and full of love.  
"Yes, he's been so distant this past year. Sometimes we can barely stand each other. Everything I do is not good enough." Just then, her words came rushing out. "I'm too clumsy, I can't cook. I'm too stupid. And I'm too immature." Looking down, Usagi tried to refrain from the tears that threatened to burst forth as she poured her heart to a stranger. This past year had been very trying for her. Everything she tried didn't quite work out for her and Mamoru.  
"Oh you poor child. You should not be with someone who treats you like this." The motherly woman drew Usagi into a hug. "Why don't you find someone else?"  
"Because we are destined for each other. He was supposed to be my prince." Usagi said as she held onto the woman. It had been so long when someone gave her a hug and listened to her problems.  
"My dear, your prince would not treat you so. I say that you leave him and find a man who doesn't treat you so."  
"But you don't understand, we are destined for each other." However the more she said it the worse she felt. Was this what she had to look forward too? year after year of hate and silent looks?  
Gently stroking the younger woman's long blond hair, the elder prayed she could give her some advice. "It is a trap that many women delude themselves into thinking, but you must open your eyes and see what is in front of you. He is no longer the one. He may have been but he is different. Besides if you two were meant to be together, then seperation would not keep you two apart. Maybe you just need some time apart to grow."   
Processing what the woman was saying, she began to wonder if what she was saying was right. Could some time apart be what they needed. Maybe later on in life they would be suited for each other, but right now, she simply could not understand what Mamoru was going through at work and all this talk of responsibility. Maybe she needed to develop that on her own. Maybe they weren't ready yet.  
"Thank you." Usagi said gratefully to the woman. "What was your name?"  
"My name is not important. Just remember me."  
"I will, always."  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
End Prologue 


	2. Results of Betrayal

Chapter 1  
  
Wind blew through the city of San Francicso whipping away at the streets. Yeilding to the might of the wind, trees swayed in their own private dance as people began to wake. The city of San Francisco, home of the largest population of engineers and software programmers in the world, began its daily act of greeting the sun. As the day began to burst forth, people began their daily ritual of commuting. Greeting the morning sun was no odd occurance for a certain young blond woman living in a downtown San Fran. apartment. However today, she remained buried in the folds of her blankets. A screeching pierced the air as an annoying alarm clock initiates. Groggy hands emerges from the confines of the blanket to grasp the alarm. Bleary eyes focused on the ceiling as Usagi awoke.   
  
It had been four years since the fateful night of the gala when Usagi had ended her relationship with her destined lover. In a brash decision Usagi had decided to stay in San Francisco to begin her life a new. She had become requainted with her family since the time she moved to America. For the first year, she attended college and lived with her parents. However after she had enough money she moved out on her own and continued school on a part time basis. Now at the age of 23, Usagi worked as a professional photographer. All in all her transition to America went rather smoothly.   
  
"Usagi! Have you seen my brand new Armani white shirt?"   
Fully focusing on her room, she heard her roomate yelling through her door. Poking her head outside, she saw a blond blur racing around the living room. "Mina! Calm down, it is probably still hanging in the bathroom!" Rubbing her eyes, Usagi thought back to how Mina and her had met up again. They had both been attending UC Berkely together and dormed together. Both being strangers in a foreign land, they took comfort in knowing there was someone there who understood their problems. Forming a close bond, they supported each other in their time of need. Mina was now working as an actress trying to make a big break into the big screen.  
  
"Usagi! Where are my-"  
"On top of the fridge."  
"Usagi! I can't find my-"  
"On the Balcony!"  
"Usagi!"  
"Under your bed." The question and answer session was part of their morning ritual when Mina had an audition. Usagi calmly got ready for work as her hyperactive roomate sprinted around the apartment. After getting dressed and freshened up, Usagi quickly prepares some breakfast. Within minutes two bagels are toasted and buttered, a pair of apples and two bags of lunch were laid out on the kitchen counter. Standing back as the blond blur known as her roomate streaked past her and grabbed the bagel, apple and bag of lunch, Usagi smirked. If it had been 4 years ago, it would have been her who was so unorganized and most likely tripping her way out the door. However since then she had become less and less clumsy and more like the graceful princess she was once. Learning to manage her time in school, Usagi had a better idea of how to organize her schedule and the importance of waking up on time. Smiling at the reminiscense, Usagi glanced down at her watch.  
"Oh my god I'm going to be late!"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
A few miles away in a skyscraper a young man sat at his desk pondering his next move. Cool and calculating he looked at the dilemma at hand. Which pawn would be sacrificed? Looking across at his opponent he tried to read her intentions, finding nothing, he looked back to the battlefield laid out before his desk, he made his move.  
  
"Pawn takes rook. Checkmate."  
"You know Ranma you are too good at this game for your own good." Nabiki sat back in her chair looking at the chessboard in front of her.  
"It's like the business arena, and like the business arena I never loose." Ranma said in a calm voice as he sipped his tea.  
Sipping her tea with a grimace, Nabiki picked up a 1 inch thick folder. "Anyways, how's the deal with Armantech? Will we be acquiring their nanotech division?"  
Standing up, Ranma walked over to the large bay window. The last four years have been very good to Ranma, his hair now cut short to signify the loss of Akane. He was still tall and lean with a build anyone could appreciate. However his eyes portrayed emptyness instead of the happy young man who was once know as Ranma. After Akane had left him for another man, Ranma' became distant for a few weeks, only to return as a changed man. No longer naive and carefree, he was now more aware and calm. Now one of the richest men in the world at the age of 26, Ranma was also the most eligible bachelor in the world. As the CEO of ST Corp, he held virtually all power in the biotech industry, and a giant in the computer and software industry. All in all a perfect example of a man among men. Except for the hole in his heart that has been cemeted away.  
"Nabiki, they are already ours, they just don't know about it." Ranma finally said.  
Looking at the empty shell of eyes, Nabiki cursed her sister for being so fleeting with the heart. "Ranma, you really need some time off. between the job and training you put yourself through, when do you sleep? When do you have time for yourself? You need to take a break from work."  
Looking to the sky above, Ranma imagined the feeling of reaching beyond the stars. "I shall. After the December conference I will be taking a trip over to China to train in the mountains and to keep Saffron at bay."  
"Ranma..."  
With his eyes betraying no feelings, Ranma turned to look at Nabiki."Nabiki you are my sister and my partner, we have made a very successful business together, please don't make me upset. I know exactly where you are going with this conversation. We've had it so many times and everytime I have told you the same thing. By pushing this issue, I know what you are getting at and I told you I am never investing time and effort into a relationship."  
"Listen Ranma you can't keep avoiding the topic, you are still hurting from Akane. However this is just not healthy. You have retreated into a shell of emotionlessness since she left. Please just move on, you are so lonely and everyone feels it." Nabiki tried one more time.  
Walking to the fireplace in the office, Ranma raised his hand and sent a small burst of chi to ignite the logs. Squating down and looking into the fire intensly, Ranma thrust his left hand into the flame. Screaming, Nabiki jumped out of her chair and raced to her 'brother'. Tearing his hands from the flame, Nabiki looked at his scarred hand.   
"What were you thinking?" She screamed into his face. Peering into the impassive face, she wanted to slap him. However he motioned for her to look at his hands. Looking down at the scarred hand, she stepped back but fell onto her bottom. Ranma's scarred hand was healing at a alarming rate. what were 3rd degree burns just a split second ago were now faded away to 1st degree burns. Staring into her face, Ranma stood again.  
"I care nothing for that... person. I am who I have become, as life has made me. What you see before you is what destiny has decided for me. If I must be lonely, so be it. Loneliness allows me to concentrate on the success of this company and my success in this world. It allowed me to train to be the best. This is what destiny has chosen for me."  
Tears nearly formed at Nabiki's eyes as she saw the shell of a man where once was a lively optimistic young man. Life was cruel indeed. "I'm so sorry, Ranma. Kasumi, your mother and I just want you to love again."  
"I appreciate the thought but never again will I entrust my heart to anyone again."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
  
The moon glowed brightly upon the Saotome ancestral home. The matriarch of the household was sitting on a balcony looking into the great beyond. Her face still youthful, however her eyes shone with wisdom. Tonight she had only one thing on her mind; her son. Tears formed at her eyes everytime she thought of her beloved son. Tears formed because of his lost childhood; of growing up without a mother and without a family. Tears of sorrow and pain from the loss that her son had to endure. Tears of a mother formed from the suffering her son has had to endure every day for he past four years.  
"Dear?"   
Turning to face her husband, a man who she had hated for a few years. That was until he won her back over by re-courting her after their divorce six years ago. They had been remarried for two years now, and he had been her support everyday of those two years. "Yes, anata?"  
"What are you thinking of?" Genma moved to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her body.  
"Our dear son... you know what today is right?" she said as she leaned into his chest. Enjoying the loving attention he was giving her, she tried not to cry for her son.  
"The boy is strong. Stronger than anyone is and will be. He will survive this." Genma said stoically. He knew this was true, however he was worried for his son too. Many thought that he never loved his son, but this was simply not true. He did love his son, quite a bit, but he just simply did not know how to be a father. He tried to give Ranma the one gift that he felt was the most important to his life other than his family; The Art. Teaching him all he knew of the Art and more than he knew gave him joy that his son was so strong. However emotionally, Ranma never had to deal with any blows as he did physically. In that respect his son was weak. When Akane broke the engagement with him, it was similar to a strong strike to his heart. But being his son, he recuperated and fortified his weak point. Unfortunately that made him a emotionless man now.  
"I know, but how much of this suffering must our son endure? Do the gods hate him so? Why?" Looking to the heavens, Nodoka searched for an answer.  
"Anata, that is not for us to know. We can only be his mother and father as best we can. It doesn't do any good to ask for a question that cannot be answered now."   
" I suppose so." Holding onto her husband, she silently cursed the gods for her son's suffering.  
"Mom? Dad?" A calm voice called out to the couple. Turning around, they saw their adopted daughter Natsume standing in the doorway.  
"What is it?" Genma replied noticing how much Natsume had grown since they had taken her and her sister in as their daughters two years ago.  
"Kasumi, Taro, Ryouga and Dr. Ono are here with Uncle Tendo." Nodding, Genma guided his wife to the living room to greet their guests.  
  
Natsume looked to her foster parents and felt her heart reach for them. Their son was slowly slipping away from all of them and they were simply running out of ways to help him. She remembered her first encounter with Ranma. He was so full of life and energetic, he had defeated Kurumi and herself with his wits and a smile on his face.   
She had heard and saw the result of his power when a loved one was threatened. However when she met him three and a half years ago she saw not a man of life, but a man of loneliness and bitterness. Both her and Kurumi were on the brink of starvation since they had moved to America. When she heard the name Saotome, she immediately went to the Saotome house to find Ranma in hopes that he could give her a job to help a sick Kurumi. Instead she found the loving woman she called mother now.   
Taking the two of them into her home, she nursed Kurumi back to health and fed them both. During this time her mother clung to her and Kurumi as much as they clung to her. After a few months they went back to Japan, where they stayed another year before their mother officially adopted them into the family.Since then Natsume has been teaching martial arts at the Tendo-Saotome Anything goes school of Martial Arts. Kurumi was now attending college in America training to join Ranma in ST Corp. All in all Natsume felt like a family except for her suffering parents and brother. Looking at the large room before her she swore that she would do anything in her power to mend this family back together.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Gathered in the Saotome living room were Ranma's closest confidents other than Nabiki, Shampoo and Cologne. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room as they all stared at some part of the house. Each mulling within their own thoughts trying to find something to say to the Saotome heads. No one really knew what to say to them except that they would continue in their efforts to revive Ranma. Ryouga looked to his brother in arms Taro with tired eyes  
  
"How have you been Taro?"   
With a cool and calm exterior, Taro looked at Ryouga. "Not any better than you have been. The Amazons grow restless recently with Saffron regaining his powers again. No one knows if he will decide to join the modern world or go against it."  
Ryouga winced at the mention of Saffron. That name struck fear into the hearts of many people due to the power that the Phoenix has accumulated in the past years. Everyone who had a certain level of martial arts expertise could sense the rise in power of the winged being. "I will be joining you in the village at the end of this year."  
"If that is your will, we would be in much need to defend against Saffron if he so chooses to oppose the modern era." Taro said a silent thank you to the gods. Ryouga would be a great asset to their side just in case. They had both grown to be each others equal in power.   
Looking over, Kasumi looked at the two younger men conversing in their matters as she sat with her husband Tofu. So far her life has been far from easy. Since the marriage began, Tofu and herself had many arguments regarding where their hearts laid. Since Kasumi recieved her license as a doctor, she began a practice with her friend Mika in pediatrics. With the both her husband and her so busy neither had much time to spend with each other. That combined with the fact that they have yet to produce a child frustrated the couple to no end. Just then her Aunt and Uncle entered the room interrupting her thoughts.  
"Greetings everyone, thank you for all coming. Dinner will be served in a few moments."  
"Auntie Saotome, how have you been?"  
"Saotome-kun! Are you up to a game of shogi?"  
"Natsume why don't you show us around?"  
At least in sorrow, the Saotomes have their friends and each other.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Collapsing onto the couch in their apartment, Usagi dropped all her camera equipment next to her. Although she loved photography, it was exhausting work. Especially when the pictures had to be from the top of a mountain. She had spent all day hiking up the side of a mountain to obtain pictures for a new client. Looking over to the clock mounted on the wall, she noted that she had another hour before Mina came home. Since it was her turn to cook, she would have to start dinner now. If she had the money she would just order takeout, but she couldn't neither her nor Mina were rich and eating out was a luxury that they could not afford. For now it would just be grilled chicken and rice. Lolling her head back she stared out the sky window, tonight the moon was beautiful.   
"Hello mother." Usagi liked to talk to the moon as if her mother Queen Serenity was still on it. It comforted her in times when she needed to be alone.   
  
"It's been six years since I last saw him. Even though I've loved every minute of my life here in America, I still wish that he stayed here with me. I guess I still love him, after all we are destined to be together. I have to love him."   
  
Smiling to herself, Usagi remembered all those times when they walked through the parks enjoying each other's company. "I haven't seen a man on a romantic basis since Mamo-chan. I just wish he understood why I needed to be out on my own for a bit. At least we talk to each other once or twice a month, but he seems so distant these past few months. He says he understands why we have to be apart but I can hear... something in his voice."  
  
"We've agreed to love each other and remain faithful even though we are apart. I know this is hard on him but it is a testament of our love for each other. It cannot be broken after this trial. When we settle down, it will be forever and I do not want either of us having doubts or yearnings. I just hope that this time apart will rid us of our doubts and yearnings."  
  
As Usagi continued her heart to heart, the moon seemed to glimmer and twinkle in response to the blond woman. "I hope he comes to America soon so we can see each other. I miss his warmth and his love." Wrapping her arms around herself, Usagi thought back to the times when her Mamo-chan held her as if she were the only one in this universe.  
  
Suddenly the door burst in disrupting her train of thought. With an annoyed look, Usagi raised her head to what Mina was so excited about. What surprised her was that Mina staggering to bathroom. Sniffing the air, Usagi definately noticed the alcohol in the air. Forcing her tired body to get up, she stood to help her drunken friend.  
"Mina-chan? Are you okay?" Usagi asked tentatively from the door.  
"Yes! I got the part!" came a drunken reply from the bathroom.  
"Really! That's great!" Usagi rushed to the bathroom to help her roomate. Mina was currently holding herself up on the sink as the bath filled with cold water.  
"Yup! Me and Miaka went to celebrate at her brother's pub! I think I'm a little tipsy." Smiling brightly Mina nodded at that proclaimation.  
"I think you did too." Leading her friend away from the bath, Usagi pushed some of Mina's stuffed animals out of the way so that she could lie down. "Come on Mina, please lie down."  
"You're such a good friend Usagi." Mina slurred as she laid down. Suddenly she sat up and held onto her friends arm. "You should find a man. Forget about Mamoru!"  
"Shhhhh... Sleep Mina-chan." usagi said as she gently laid her friend back onto the bed. Within minutes, Mina was sleeping. Stretching, Usagi looked out Mina's window to see a shooting star. Closing her eyes she made a wish, " I wish to see Mamo-chan again."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The next morning, Usagi woke to her roomate stumbling around the kitchen. Groaning, Usagi pushed her stuffed cat aside and opened her eyes. Looking out the window she saw the darkening clouds up above the sky preventing the life giving sun to shine through. Yawning Usagi mentally went through a list of thing she had to do today. When she heard Mina knock something else over, she sighed and got out of bed.  
  
"Mina! What are you looking f-" Usagi's mouth was instantly covered by her roomate's hand. With her index finger on her lips Mina made 'shushing' sounds.  
"Not so loud." she whispered. Nodding Usagi walked out of her room and into the kitchen. Following behind her, Mina made her way to the couch and threw herself down. Quickly setting some water to boil on the stove, Usagi searched through the cabinets for some asprin. Throwing some bagels into the toaster, Usagi quickly fished out two mugs. Suddenly a breeze blew through an opened window as Usagi shivered a bit.   
'Odd it's not even a cold breeze.' Usagi thought to herself. Shrugging, she looked onto the calendar to see where she had to go with her camera. 'The Hyatt for a wedding.' Smiling, Usagi loved to see weddings. it always filled her heart with joy to see the union of two people in love. She quietly imagined what her marriage would be like. First she would be in a beautiful white wedding dress and it would be an outdoors wedding. However before she could go into anymore details, the pot screeched to notify that the water was ready. Preparing some tea, Usagi brought the two cups of tea, toasted bagels, and two tablets of asprin over to the small table next to the couch.  
"Here Mina-chan." Handing the suffering girl the two tablets, Usagi leaned back in her chair to enjoy her bagel.  
"Where are you headed Usagi?" Mina said as she swallowed the two tablets.  
"The Hyatt for a wedding, do you want to come?" Usagi said brightly as she looked out upon the gloomy clouds.  
"Nah, I've got to go talk to the director about the script and some details." Nodding, Usagi turned on the TV to watch the morning news.  
"With temperatures in the low 70s, we will be expecting rain all day long. I hope all of you have your umbrellas handy!" The news lady reported the dreadful news with a smile. Next a picture of a handsome man appeared on the monitor.  
"Now in later news, billionaire Ranma Saotome reported a large contribution to fund the rebuilding of seaport which was destroyed three months ago in a Chinese terrorist bombing. The police have yet to find the cuprit of the bombing, however forensics did not find any signs of explosives. Reports are still cycling in Chinatown that there were two figures throwing bolts of energy blasts from their hands and that was the cause of the explosion."  
"Also, Ranma Saotome is holding an annual charity gala at the Seaside Palace for starving children across the world This Saturday night. We will have live coverage of the guests as they enter the gala."  
Feeling off, Usagi quickly got up to take a shower, leaving a bloodshot Mina to finish her tea. While undressing, she looked at herself. She had matured in the past few years. All her years of exercising and eating healthier had allowed her body to develop into the lithe and graceful woman she was now. Her fast metabolism allowed her to keep her figure and the baby fat from her face was also gone. Her chest was now fully developed and somedays a bit of a pain to have a large chest, but overally she felt that she was very well proportioned.   
  
Stepping into the shower, Usagi thought back to the man on TV. "I wonder why he looks so sad and lonely?"  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
As the morning broke across Napa, a young man stood in a darkened dojo concentrating deeply. All of a sudden dozens of blades swung down from the ceiling towards the young man. However the blades stopped a few feet from the man's body as they struck an invisible barrier. Dark blue and green tendrils of chi wrapped itself around the man's body slithering like a pair of snakes. As the man raise his right hand above his head, the tendrils were absorbed into his palm. Holding his hand out in front of his body, he concentrated even more causing flames of dark blue to erupt from his hand. With a shout, he released an enormous beam of fire towards titanium wall. When the beam died down, the wall had melted into nothingness so had the wall behind the titanium wall and the trees behind the walls.  
  
Just then a screen flickered to life on the wall behind the man. "Ranma? We have a meeting in two hours with Armantech's CEO, and you need to go over the details of the gala with Kasumi after the the meeting. Then dinner with your mother and sisters. Your father called to inform you of a book he had found with arcane martial art techniques, he would like for you to take a look at it."  
Catching his breath, Ranma walked to the door and nodded to his secretary. "I will meet you at the heliopad in an hour and a half, call my father and tell him to give the book to mother so she can bring it to dinner tonight. Tell Kasumi that I will be ready at lunch to go over the details. Also tell the Hyatt that I will be requiring a bottle of Dom Perignon and all the rooms beneath the penthouse tonight."  
"Very good, Ranma. Will that be all?"  
As Ranma was about to walk towards the bathroom, he stopped. "Actually yes, what are you doing on Saturday night?"  
"Nothing as of yet. Why?"  
"I need a date to the gala, if my mother insists, and I cannot find an appropriate date, I want you to come with me."  
"Very good. Will that be all?"  
"Yes, good day Setsuna."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Nodoka sat calmly on the plane as she looked over the darkened Pacific ocean. She has flown so many times across the ocean that she was so used to the time zone changes. Looking over to her daughter Natsume, she noted how much she had matured in the past few years. It was no wonder that so many men sought to date her. However Natsume ignored most of them as they did not impress her at all. For a long time she had a crush on Ranma, however realizing that their relationship could never be, she stopped. She had recently been secretly seeing someone that Nodoka had yet to find out. Suddenly the screen in front of her lit up as a dark green hair woman appeared.  
  
"Greetings Mrs. Saotome, Ranma has asked me to ask you to bring your husband's newly aquired book to dinner tonight."  
Smiling at the woman, Nodoka sill wondered what it was about this woman that looked out of place. "Thank you Setsuna, if it is possible please call Kurumi and tell her to meet us at the Hyatt tonight at 8 pm. Also arrange to have someone to pick us up at the airport."  
"Very good maam. will there be anything else?"  
"Actually," Nodoka looked intenly at the woman and wondered if she would know. "do you know if my son is seeing anyone?"  
"No maam."  
"Oh I see, has he been well?"  
"He is perhaps the healthiest man in the world."  
"Emotionally I mean."  
"He is as he has been since Ms. Tendo left him."  
"Oh I see. Thank you Setsuna."  
"Have a nice day maam." As the woman on the screen dissappeared Nodoka looked out into the sky and wept for her son.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
At the same time, a tall young man arrived in the San Francisco airport. Looking around he remembered the last time he was here, he had lost his girlfriend. However that had been four years ago and he had been a lowly reporter, he was now back to ensnare her again. He would show her that he could provide anything she wanted for her. Being the new editor of the magazine Generation, he was a very powerful man in Japan. Now all he had to do was to charm her as he did so with so many women. Confident that Usagi would run back into his arms now that he had changed the man he used to be, he strolled out of the airport.  
  
Looking around he saw his assistant standing next to a red sports car. Mamoru Chiba smirked and carried his bags to the car.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that you have such good taste." he said as he threw his bags into the back seat of the car.  
"I'm glad you like the car, I rented it for 2 weeks and that can be extended to however long you plan to stay here." Maria stated with a bow to her employer.  
Nodding, Mamoru slid into the drivers seat of the car relishing the feel of leather molding against his body. "Good, is my room at the Hyatt reserved?"   
"Actually the penthouse has been reserved by someone else and the Hyatt placed you in one of their best suite."  
With an incredulous look, Mamoru was amazed that he would be turned down for the penthouse. It had been a while since someone of greater importance stayed at the same hotel he did. "Who beat me out of the penthouse?"  
"Ranma Saotome."  
With a snort, Mamoru waved his assistant off. As Maria left, he started the car and looked at the city ahead of him. "It's been four years but I'm back and Usagi you will see how rich and powerful I am now."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Arriving at her workplace in downtown San Francisco, Usagi waved to the florist who was located next the photography office. The photography office was not a very large nor very famous photography shop. However they made enough to make a tidy profit. Today's wedding would be their biggest job yet, a rich politician's son had decided to hire them due to their good reputation. If they made a good impression today, it could mean a lot of publicity for them. Making her way to her desk, Usagi placed her equipment down.  
"Usagi!" Turning around, Usagi was immediately cornered by her boss. Her boss was a short Japanese woman in her early thirties. She was a kind boss to work for, however she was too high strung.  
"Michelle, calm down. What's wrong?"  
"The editor of Generations is in town." The older woman was waving her hands around and fretting with her hair at the same time.  
"Yes, I heard what about him?" Usagi said as she mentally picked out her outfit for today's event.  
"I want to try to impress him with our photographs, so he can link us with several very important contracts. I want you to talk to him today." The older woman said excitedly. "I hear he is single."  
Rolling her eyes, Usagi sat down at her desk and fumbled through the draws for a pen. "Michelle, I told you I don't feel like dating, it's such a hassle. When the time is right, destiny will guide me to my true lover."   
"I know I know, but how are you going to find a man when you don't actively go looking for one?"  
Finding a pen, Usagi began to quickly jot down some notes on her post-it notes. "I don't like these rich snobby guys, besides I have that wedding to do today."  
"I'll do it." A rich voice said from behind Michelle. "Afterall, I think I am a bit more qualified to meet this man. Besides, I think the editor would prefer a woman as opposed to a girl. "  
Sighing, Usagi knew today was a bad day, first her car had stalled out on her twice, and now Anna was busting her chops. Ever since she joined the office, Anna had dislike her for some reason. Usagi got along with everyone except Anna. For some reason, the woman just didn't like the fact that Usagi was so friendly and just about everyone liked her. Anna was constantly putting her down on her looks, insulting her intelligence, and her actions. However Usagi never really got too angry at Anna, she just avoided her. Afterall Anna did a lot for the company, she was the person responsible for advertisements and public relations and image. With her sharp mind and killer body, she managed to attract quite a few customers. Wanting not to antagonize her, Usagi just nodded.  
"If Anna wants to do it, let her. I really have no interest in meeting this editor." Michelle looked exasperated at her friend. She had wanted to set Usagi on a date with a rich and influential man. Afterall what kind of friend was she if she didn't try to help her friend's love life?  
"Okay, Anna take Usagi's pictures and meet this man for dinner. He will be at the Hyatt at 8 pm" Turning around, Michelle was going to say something to her young friend, but Usagi had already left to go and ready for the shoot.  
"Don't worry about that girl, by the end of dinner, this man will be eating out of my palms." Anna said with a flick of her hair.  
"Just make sure he endorses our company, this could be the biggest break for us if we are contracted by his magazine for shoots.  
"I will." Quickly Anna turned to get ready for the dinner. "Mr. Chiba get ready to have your socks knocked off."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Arriving back at her apartment, Usagi raced into her room to get dressed for the wedding. Normally she wouldn't dress up too much for a photo session, but this time she had to impress the client by dressing professionally. Noticing that she had a few messages on her machine, Usagi pressed play.   
"Usagi-chan, this is your mother. We will be in town this weekend for your father's boss's charity function. If you can please meet us for lunch on Saturday. We are bringing Shingo along, he just completed his internship with your father. We'll give you a call on Saturday morning so please don't party all of Friday night. Also, Usagi your father and I want to know if you've been seeing anyone recently. We worry that you seem to have been hurt from your previous relationship, or that you haven't given up on that Mamoru fellow. Now as your mother I just want what's best for my daughter. That's why I want to introduce to a very nice young man who works in the same company your father works for. His name is-" Quickly Usagi stopped the message before her mother could get much further.   
It infuriated her to no end when her mother consistantly set her up with all these young engineers or managers who worked under her father. Her mother just simply didn't understand her agreement with Mamoru, when she felt that she wanted to settle down, she would marry him. However, she just didn't understand that Mamoru was her destined husband, and that he was the one she would end up marrying. They just needed some time apart to grow, and when destiny chose to, they would meet again and fall in love. Regardless of her mother's meddling, it would be nice to see them again. She hardly saw them more than three times a year, once for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and her Birthday. It was a bonus to see them this weekend. Jumping to the next message, Usagi continued to change.  
"Usagi?! Mina? It's Ami, Rei and I will be in town next Wedensday for a convention. It would be great to see you and Mina again. Please call me at my cell number when you have a chance. It is 212-745-9090. Call me as soon as you can."  
Stepping out of her room, Usagi snapped a clasp to her hair. Looking at the time, Usagi realized that she didn't have enough time to call her friends. Jotting down the number, Usagi made a note to herself to call them. Standing in front of her full length mirror, Usagi checked to see if everything was in place. She was dressed in a navy blue business suit. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a braid and secured at the bottom with a silver clasp and her make up was perfect. Picking up her equipment, she ran out the door completely missing the final message.  
"Hello? Usagi, this is Mamoru, I'm in town and would like to meet you. Please give me a call when you can my cell number is ..."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Quickly rushing to his limo, Ranma glanced at his watch. Tapping a small device behind his ear, Ranma stepped into his limo. The meeting with Armantech had gone on longer than Ranma had anticipated and as a result, he was late for his meeting with Kasumi.   
"Setsuna." Ranma called out to the air as he quickly flipped through the notes he had taken during the meeting. Suddenly the panel in front of Ranma blinked into existence.   
"Yes Ranma?"   
"Call Kasumi and tell her I am late and on my way to the restaurant now." Ranma said as he continued to look through his notes.  
"I'll get right on it." As the image winked out of existence, another call came through, Nabiki appeared on the screen.  
"Ranma, how did the meeting go? When will Armantech sign over to us?"   
Jotting down more numbers down, Ranma continued to evaluate his notes. "Nabiki, they already signed, we bought them out for 3 billion dollars."  
Taken back a bit, Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "Really, I thought the CEO would take at least a week to break down and sell. Only for 3 billion? Why so low? Their company is easily worth that much, with their new technology, they are probably worth 6 billion. Surely he must know that."  
"He did, but I told him that I own 35 % of his stocks and unless he could come up with 2 billion dollars on the spot, then he'd better sell to us. I also guarateed that they could keep their name and continue with their research, but from this point on everything they do belongs to us."   
Laughing, Nabiki threw her papers into the air. "Ranma you really are good, I didn't think you could pull this off."  
Looking up, Ranma flashed his partner a smile. "Nabiki there is something I need you to do. They are working on some sort of an AI technology that I want to know about. See what you can dig up."  
" I will Ranma. But on a side note have you decided on who you will be taking to the gala. You know you can't just keep taking Setsuna. There is already a lot of talk that the two of you are secretly dating."  
"I fail to see a problem with this." came a flat response.  
Rolling her eyes, Nabiki spoke very slowly to ensure that Ranma understood "Ranma, you are a 26 year old multibillionare. Regardless of if you care, people do expect certain things out of men of high stations. Usually a woman by his side to show that he is stable."  
"Ah yes, 'family values'. What a crude view of world people have today. I may not have many family values, that does not mean the products and services provided by our company is lesser in quality." Sitting back into his chair Ranma looked thoughtfully at Nabiki. "Very well, for my public appearance what do you think I should do?"  
"I'll compile a list of eligible women in the area. We'll see what we can come up with." Nabiki said with a smile.  
"Good, now I have to go meet with Kasumi. She has some last minute details to go over."  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The day may have been gloomy outside but inside the Hyatt, dozens of people were arriving for the marriage ceremony.The ceremony was allotted to start at 3 pm, however many of the guests were delayed due to the weather. Snapping pictures of guests and their lovely dresses and suits, Usagi wondered what it would be like to be able to afford some of the dresses that she had seen. How wonderful it would be to rich and carefree. Wading through the crowd with her SLR camera, she snapped pictures of the groom who was nervously fidgeting by the altar.  
  
Silently she giggled at the scene, she wondered if Mamoru would be like that on their wedding day. Looking around she noted some of the influential people here. Spotting the parents of the groom she focused in on their faces. Snapping images of the parents who are now coming to terms with the fact that their son was now forming a family of his own. Capturing that emotion on film, Usagi felt an accomplishment in her heart. This was what she wanted to do in her life. Humans were such chaotic beings that they express such a range of emotions. Her goal in life was to capture those moments onto film.  
  
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi was faced with a kind elder man who had his long hair pulled back in a sharp pony tail. "I was wondering if you might snap a picture of my father, myself, my son, and my grandson?"   
Looking over to where the man was pointing, she saw a young man about her age with an infant in his arms sitting next to an even elder man. "Sure it would be my pleasure. just stand by the flowers." Usagi said as she agreed to the picture.  
"Thank you." The elder man then guided his father and his descendants to the flower arrangement as all four generations lined up. Usagi looked to the four men and marvelled at the bond they each seemed to have to each other. Snapping a few pictures from different angles, Usagi tried to perfect the scene.  
"All done, if you would just leave your name and address with me I can send this picture to you."  
"Of course, just send one to myself and my son, Nobiyuki and Tenchi Masaki."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Sitting in the limo by himself, Ranma reflected upon the day. He was now getting ready to meet his mother and sisters. His father had decided to go to Los Angeles to promote a dojo with Uncle Tendo. Days seem to fly by now, leaning back in his seat, he looked to the ceiling. Soul of Ice. Grace of Water. Fists of Fire. The techniques he had been perfecting for the past four years. Four years since the day when his heart was brutally crushed. Akane had always wanted to defeat him in battle and that day she had done so with the utmost efficiency. Some days he would see the scene over and over in his mind returning to his beloved fiancee moaning in ecstacy to another man's love.   
She had left the gala earlier to get some rest. Back then he was so naive that he couldn't see her true intentions. He had stayed to reminensce with his old friends. Everything was perfect that night, he enjoyed spending time with Herb, Kirin, Toma, Taro and Mousse. He was even glad to see Shampoo and the younger version of Cologne. After spending hours with them, he had retired to his mansion expecting to hear silence but instead he hear his love's beautiful voice moaning another man's name. He had broken the door down only to confirm his suspicions.  
The few moments after he had seen his only love betray him were a haze. He hadn't gone into a fit of rage. Instead it was a shock of disbelief, of pain; pain that no physical blow or psycohological blow could ever cause. He felt as if his life energy was sapped from his body. He couldn't breath or could he feel his body. He had collapsed onto the floor of the room. Afterwards, his love had tried to explain her betrayal with logical reasons. However he couldn't hear her. It seemed as if his body just shut down. He didn't want to hear her.  
Shaking his head, Ranma shook the distraction from his mind. It had been a while since he thought about this topic. Usually he would think about it to remind himself why he didn't need a relationship. It must be all the pushing from his mother and Nabiki that had caused him to think about the inicident. Sobering up, Ranma straightened his suit and stepped out of the limo. As much as he was dead to the world, he did still love his mother.  
"Alfred, please take the rest of the night off, but be here at noon tomorrow."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The wedding had been perfect, even the antatics of the ringbearer seemed to add to the beauty of the ceremony. Since the beginning of the reception, Usagi looked about and tried to grab as many pictures as she could. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves as they dance in happiness. She nearly cried at the perfection portrayed when the bride and groom danced their solo dance to their song. This wedding was everything that she hopes that her wedding would be like. However everything was very extravagant and she knew that as much as she would want to have a wedding like this it wouldn't be possible.  
"Hey Photo lady! Take five have a drink."   
Turning her attention to Mr. Masaki, she smiled. His son's wife was perhaps one of the single most beautiful and graceful women she had ever seen. Her purple hair was a bit odd, but it seemed to suit her. Throughout the reception Mr. Masaki had been trying to get her to enjoy the party by having a few drinks, but she had declined. He was an endearing man though.  
"Now I can't drink on the job now can I?"   
"Oh don't be such a stick in the mud. Have a little fun, this is a celebration of a union of love." The elder man said sitting in a chair next to Usagi's position.  
"I know and I am having fun." She said as she focused in on the ringbearer kissing the flower girl.  
"So do you have anyone special back at home?" Usagi snapped the picture and looked at the man.  
"Yes I do."  
Curiously, the man swirled his champagne flute in his hand. "So what's he like? I like to get to know my competition."  
Laughing, Usagi snatched a champagne flute from a passing waiter and sat next to the endearing man. "Well... He is reporter for a very prestigious magazine in Japan."  
Sitting back into his chair, Nobiyuki sipped from his flute. "Japan eh? Why are you here and him there? I would think that you two would not see each other often eh?"  
"Unfortunately I don't, but in our hearts we are always together. He understands that I need to find myself first before I can completely commit to him. But very soon I will be rejoining him and we will be married." Usagi said confidently.  
"How very nice for you. So what is he like?"  
Looking back to the times when her Mamo-chan had saved her from the clutches of evil, Usagi remembered his devilish good looks and his galantry. "He is tall, handsome, and my knight. He will always protect me whenever there is trouble."  
"My my, quite the man. He is very lucky."  
"Destiny, not luck."  
_______________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The hautingly beautiful melody wafted through the air adding to the atmosphere of the restaurant. The clancking of the silverware was overshadowed with the chattering of people. With a view overlooking the bay, it was not surprising that some of the most influential people gathered to dine in the prestigious restaurant. Sitting by the window, a lithe handsome Japanese man looked over some pictures given to him by the woman sitting across from him.  
  
"These are very good, some of the best in fact." Mamoru commented as he flipped through the various pictures. "The photographer seems to capture the emotions of these people quite well."  
"She is one of our best photographer. However she is one of many photographers in our agency." The leggy blonde from the photography agency pointed out.  
"I see, just how long have you been with the agency?"  
"2 years now, but our clients have praised our work and we are constantly recieving awards for our work. I can assure you we provide nothing but the best."   
"But tell me what else can you offer? I have many contacts I could introduce you to, but I also have many other photograph agencies who do similar quality work."  
Strategically pursing her lips, Anna leaned forward to look her dinner date in the eyes. "Well Mr. Chiba, I'm sure you realize our potential for sucess. We are one of the fastest rising photography agencies in the Bay area. So by helping us along our path of success, I'm sure we will accomodate to any favors you may ask in the future. We are hoping that you would contract our company for any photographic needs. Fashion shoots, scenic, just about anything I can assure you our company can and will accomodate to. I know that your magazine is beginning a new branch here in San Francisco."  
Trying to look nonchalant at the obvious come on, Mamoru looked back down to the pictures. "Well, those are just words that you cannot back up. Why should I put my name on something a small agency that may fail, that would be bad business for me. Those rumors about our new branch are true. We are beginning a new magazine here for the younger generation of asians. However as I stated you simply cannot back up your claims, I will not contract your company unless it proves itself to me."  
"Of course, we are not asking you to fully endorse us right now. Just put in a good word to a few people that you know. Perhaps show our pictures to some of the right people. Nothing more. If the first five people you talk to do not like our work, then you can cease promoting our work and not even consider using our firm in your new branch."   
"Anna, Anna, you are running a photography agency with less than 25 employees, one hot-shot photographer, and one computer whiz. The only jobs that you have taken are peanuts to what my contacts are used to." Looking the blonde in her green eyes, Mamoru's ice blue eyes potrayed the message that he was not biting. "I'll ask again, what else do you have to offer me?" Looking down the length of Anna, Mamoru smiled.  
Anna picked up on the subtle hint, and stood up. "Perhaps we could adjourn this meeting to your room?"  
"Perhaps."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
On the other side of the restaurant, in a private tinted glass room, four people sat enjoying the view of the bay. Ranma noted that his mother and sisters seemed to be uncomfortable about something. Deciding that enough was enough, he initiated the topic.  
"What is it that you want to say?" Placing his chopsticks down, Ranma's visage portrayed complete seriousness.  
Nodoka looked to her two daughters and took a deep breath. "Ranma we just want you feel better. We were hoping that you would consider dating again."  
Holding himself firm, Ranma supressed the flashbacks he had before. "I've told you before, I have no desire to be in another relationship."  
"Ranma." It was Natusme this time. "Being in a relationship has it's good and bad points. Ever since the incident the fire inside you seems to have died out. We're worried about the negative effects of this."  
"Just as i have told you in the past, I have no need for this 'fire' I have my ambition and my goals. I now have complete control over my body and mind. By being in a relationship, I would jepordize the balance of my control. I would be weakened." Ranma stated resolutely.  
Placing her utensils down, Nodoka looked to her son. "Weakened? What do you mean weakened? You have to live and learn from that incident. Isn't that what a martial artist is supposed to do? Why are you running away? Why do you shield us from your life?"  
Closing his eyes and leaning back in the chair, Ranma calmed himself with an application of Soul of Ice. "I do not shield you from my life, I simply wish to be alone. Those who rely on emotion are unpredictable and do more harm than good. Those who can control their emotions are the strong and sucessful. Those who can manipulate their emotions to their needs are the strong. I have chosen to be strong. As for you, you are my family I care for you in my own way. I make the Saotome clan strong by becoming stronger."  
Frustrated Nodoka felt as if she was talking to a brink wall. "We don't need to be strong, we want you to feel again. We want the old Ranma back."  
"What about the time when you defeated Saffron to save Akane? You used your emotions then didn't you?" Natsume asked. After their first encounter with Ranma and Akane she had kept tabs on them and heard and seen of the resulting battle where Ranma had litterally defied a god to save the one he loved.  
Continually to apply his Soul of Ice, Ranma prevented himself from bursting forth. It had been a long time since he had last this much turmoil with his emotions. However, combined with his rush of memories today and the fact that his mother was the only person who ever seemed to draw out his feelings, he felt weakened. Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried to change the topic. "What about you Kurumi?"  
Startled by the question, Kurumi looked up from her dinner. She very rarely tried to participate in these conversations. Besides who was she to say what her brother should feel. "Me?"  
"Do you have something to add to this conversation?"  
Putting down her chopsticks, Kurumi looked to her brother. She really didn't know what to say. A silence passed between them as she tried to figure out what to say to him.  
"Well... I think that mom and Natsume are right in some respects, but some of your points are correct as well."  
Natsume looked to her sister wondering what she was trying to get at. It wasn't like her to disagree with Ranma. She more or less idolized him as a business man and a martial artist. "What do you mean?" she questioned her younger sister.  
"Well, Onnisan has been through a traumatic experience and I think that it has caused him to try to avoid love. However, by us forcing him to love again is causing him to avoid love even more so. All we should do is be beside him in case he needs to talk to us." Kurumi reasoned. "But Onnisan you shouldn't deprive yourself of love. If love should come to you again, don't shy away from it. Allow what is natural to happen. I think it's a fair request."  
"Education pays off when you are trying to comprimise, does it not?" Ranma said with a smirk. "I do not spurn love, I merely control my emotions to allow myself to think objectively. If I decide that a relationship is a good thing to be engaged in I will enter a relationship. I refuse to actively engage in the so called 'courting' process. If love were true enough none of the courting would be necessary. I will agree to Kurumi's terms. I shall not spurn love. However, I will look at it objectively and make a rational decision on whether to be with a woman or not."  
Nodoka looked to her son. Somehow she felt a bit of a victory. At least he wasn't trying to completely avoid the topic. "Agreed."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Packing up her equipment, Usagi smiled thinking about the great day she had been having today. All the guests had left except for the DJ, priest and the clean up crew. This was perhaps one of the best jobs she had gotten to work at. All the guests were not arrogant as she had originally thought, but asked her to join in the festivities. Mamo-chan. She had been thinking about him quite often recently, his face, his eyes, his galantry. They had wonderful times, she truly missed him. Perhaps it was time to get back together. Afterall she had only broken up because they needed time to find themselves.She had found herself, perhaps it was time to settle down with her beloved Mamo-chan. Perhaps he has reached a point that he could settle down with her.  
"Young lady?" Turning around, Usagi saw the elderly priest standing behind her.  
"Yes?"  
"I was wondering if you were almost done packing up here."  
"Just about." Usagi said as she snapped her camera case shut. Putting on her coat, she strapped her equipment to her shoulder.  
"Do you need and extra hand there?" The priest asked as Usagi almost dropped a bag. Smiling appreciativly, Usagi handed the elder priest two bags.  
"Thanks, my car is just out front."   
Nodding, the priest followed her to her car. "So is this your full time job?"  
Looking over her shoulder, Usagi nodded to the priest. "Yes, I studied Photography in college."  
"What is it about photography that interests you?"  
Frowning, Usagi tried to think of her reasons to enter photography. "Well actually I kind of fell into the major. I had originally wanted to be an artist. However I was never very good as sculpting and painting. Deciding that I could try another way of art, I tried photography."  
Patting Usagi on the shoulder, the priest nodded approvingly. "It's very good to see that you have a passion for something. I'm sure you will go far in photography. Tell me what kind of pictures do you like to take?"  
"People. Moments of emotions in people's lives to be exact. I like to capture people's happiness, sadness, love and anger. Emotions is what make people human. I like to immortalize feelings." Usagi said while looking into the sky. Spotting her car, she fished out her keys and walked towards it. "That's my car over there." Popping open her trunk, she laid her equipment down.  
"Here you go young lady." The priest placed his bags into the car as well. After shutting her trunk, Usagi turned to the priest.  
"Do you need a ride?"  
The priest was taken back by the offer byut composed himself. "Well I need to get back to the church. But it is only two blocks from here. You need not-"  
"Nonesense, hop in, I'll drop you off." Giving the priest a cheeky smile, Usagi started up her car. "I'm not taking no for an answer Father."  
"Very well."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ranma rubbed his temple, as he stepped into the elevator. Never in four years has he had this much trouble controling his emotions. He was still trying to recover from his flashback from earlier today. In addition to his mother's request, today has been a good day so far. He just wanted to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning to a fresh day.  
"To the penthouse Mr. Saotome?" Nodding to the elevator operator, Ranma leaned back against the wall. Looking to one of the mirrors of the elevator wall, he saw a handsome face with aclean cut image. But it was true, the chaos that made him the wild horse was gone. It was better this way. He hadn't had this argument with himself in a while. Last time was four years ago, when he was in an emotional wreck. Thinking back to his conversation with Kurumi, Natsume and his mother, her realized that this was the first time he had actually opened to them. Berating himself, he hadn't realized that his iron mask had weakened so much. He had to defeat this memory. However he had buried that memory so deep into his mind that he couldn't remember what was bothering him so much. He needed to find out quickly before his entire mask fell. Sighing in frustration, Ranma felt the need for some alcohol.  
"Take me back down to the ground floor. I need a drink."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Guiding his date to the elevator, Mamoru smirked at the woman. Very rarely did a woman turn down his charms. With this new found confidence he was sure Usagi would run back into his arms. Somewhere within a voice told him that by sleeping with other women he could jepordize his chances with Usagi, but his newer voice reasoned that Usagi would end up with him either way, so why not live it up before he finally tied the knot with that klutz. Feeling justified, Mamoru turned to his date.  
"Wait here, I want to get something first." Walking to the front desk, Mamoru passed a beautiful looking blond. 'Nice body.' he commented to himself. "I'd like to have a glass of champagne sent to room 528 thank you." Turning back to the elevators, Mamoru rubbed his hands together. It had been a while since he had bedded down a foreign woman. It was a night he would remember.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Looking down at her locket, Usagi listened to the melody emerging. It was the locket that Endymion had given to Serenity when she lived on the moon. After all these years the locket represented the love between the two souls and as long as it played their song, their hearts would forever be connected. Arriving back at the hotel, Usagi hopped out of her car. She had simply forgotten her hairpiece at the front desk. During the wedding, she had dropped her hair piece.   
When Nobiyuki told her that his son had placed it at the front desk for safe keeping, she went back to her job and promised herself that she would pick it up later. As she walked to the front desk, a taller dark hair man had passed in front of her. 'Odd he looks familiar.' Usagi commented to herself. Keeping a distance away from the man, she spied on the man. If she were to get too close to him it would be impolite and she may scare him away. However as soon as he spoke, she knew. It was his voice, she could never forget it. It was always in her dreams rescuing her from evil minnions. The voice had said 'I love you' so many times. Just as he turned to leave, Usagi caught a glimpse of his face. It was just as beautiful as she remembered, but it wasn't the same face that she remembered. Something had changed.  
Reaching out for him, she was just about to call him when she saw a woman walk to him and wrap her arms around his own. It was Anna. That woman was with her Mamo-chan. Usagi's first emotion was of disbelief. However she remembered that Anna was supposed to meet an editor for dinner, could that person have been Mamo-chan? Walking straight towards the couple she was just going to say something when the two kissed.  
A dryness filled her mouth as she looked at the couple retreating into the elevator. Her legs all of a sudden felt weak and her stomach seemed to want to heave. Her chest hurt from being so tight. Leaning against a chair in the lobby, Usagi 's legs gave out. It was impossible. How could this have happened. They were destined to be together. Why was he with someone else? Taking a deep breath, Usagi's mind raced and her body grew cold and warm at the same time. Pushing herself to her feet, she went after the couple. Room 528 he had said to the receptionist. She wanted to know the full story and she would confront him about it.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Entering the room, Mamoru escorted his soon to be conquest into the room. Turning to him, Anna smile cattily. She pressed herself to him and proceeded to kiss him passionately. Fumbling to close the door behind him, he felt her fingers reach for his shirt. 'What a woman.' he thought to himself. Pushing Anna deeper into the room, Mamoru took off his jacket before turning his full attention to her.   
"I see you've done this before." he commented as he gazed upon her long exposed legs.  
Winking at him, Anna removed her blouse to reveal her ample chest. "I like powerful men, and they like me. What can I say?" Grinning, Mamoru pushed her down onto the bed.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Usagi crept quietly along the hallway trembling as she walked towards her destionation. Trying to compose herself, Usagi mumbled words of comfort to herself. Part of her blamed herself for pushing Mamoru to take comfort in the arms of other women. Perhaps she could still win him back, they shared a bond that could not be broken. She refused to believe that Mamoru betrayed her. Maybe he was just pretending to be with Anna. The hallway seemed so long and never ending as she walked towards his room in a haze. From a few door from the designated room, she heard a sound like a muffle moan. Freezing up, she tried to hear more, but she only heard silence. Walking closer to the door, she listen cautiously. Nothing. Perhaps she had heard things. Reaching the door, Usagi stared at the golden room numbers. A war raged within her mind as she debated whether or not to knock on the door.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Kissing the shapely woman on his bed, Mamoru almost missed the knock at the door. Pushing himself up, he put his finger on her lips. "Wait, I think that's our champagne."   
  
"Don't be long." Anna purred to him.   
Reaching for a robe, Mamoru covered his naked body as he reached for the door. Opening the door, he saw a hotel employee with a bottle of champagne on ice with two champagne flutes.  
"Here you go Mr. Chiba." Handing him the tray. Placing the tray down on the table, Mamoru reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his money clip. Pulling out a tip, he handed it to the employee.   
"Here you go."  
"Will you be requiring any contraceptives?"   
Looking to the younger man quizically, Mamoru placed the money clip back onto the table. "What do you mean?" Pointing to something behind him, Mamoru turned to see Anna standing by the window and basking in the moonlight completely unabashed by her nakedness. Nodding, Mamoru accepted a few condoms from the man. Bowing, the man left the room.   
"You know you really didn't need those." Anna said seductively.  
"Why not?"  
"Because I'm on the pill. You can do whatever you want with me."  
Grinning darkly, Mamoru stalked towards the busty blond. "Believe me I will."  
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Outside, Usagi wept silently crumpled in a heap by the door. It was true, Mamoru was sleeping with Anna and who knows how many more women before her. She had saved herself for him, because she believed he would do so as well. She wanted her first time to be with love, with him. But now that would never be possible. How cruel the fates were to have dealt her this hand. As Usagi wept her sorrows away, her ears heard the rhythmic rocking of the bed accompanied by Anna's moaning.  
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Downstairs, a lone man sat at the bar swirling a glass around. Ranma looked at the amber liquid in the glass stupidly. Normally, when Ranma drank he would increase the metabolism in his body to break down the alcohol in his body so that he would not get too drunk. But tonight he just wanted to feel the effects of drunkeness. He hadn't drank like this since that horrible day when Akane betrayed him. He just wanted to forget. Forget his pain and sorrow. Forget his painful existence without Akane. Forget the fact that he would never feel love again. Forget love. He wanted to forget it all. Then he would regain control of his emotions again. he hated feeling so vulnerable right now. Perhaps with the help of his friend Jack and Jimmy, he would. Raising the glass to his lips, he drank the liquid.  
By now he had been drinking for a good two hours. Grigory his driver stood next behind him in case he wanted to go out. Good old Grigory. He was the most reliable driver he had met. He wouold drive him anywhere and do anything without asking questions. He didn't feel like he had to justify his actions to Grigory. He had found Grigory after firing a string of nosy drivers. Setsuna had introduced Grigory to him as a mute driver. At first Ranma had been skeptical, however after the first week, Grigory had proved to be quite the driver who stayed out of his business. Grigory never hassled him about love or about his personal life.  
Pouring himself another glass of whiskey, he thought back to a time when things were so much simpler. Things when he loved a woman with all his heart and she loved him just as much. His mother was right, he did rip apart a god just for the sake of Akane. He would have done anything for her had she just asked. But she betrayed him and she was happily with some other man. For weeks afterwards, he had thought that he had done something wrong. In the end, he simply didn't see what else he could have done. Then the revelation occured, there was nothing else he could have done differently because love is not predictable. That night he became a different man, the man he was now. Looking to his glass, he downed the whiskey quickly. Tonight he just wanted to forget.  
A sudden crash brought his attention to a young lady who had just sat down on the stool next to him dropping her purse to the floor. Ranma looked at her with wide eyes as he took in her entire being. 'What a magnificient creature.' Ranma thought to himself. Catching himself, Ranma turned back to his drink. What was he thinking? Looking back at the woman, he couldn't help feel drawn to her. Her beautiful long golden hair was pulled into a simple ponytail, which framed her elegant face. She had a lithe body tone from exercise and soft hands from lack of manual labor. Every feature on her body seemed so... perfect. Blinking his eyes, Ranma wondered if he was dreaming. Mentally rapping himself on the head, he looked to the bartender.   
Why was he getting so warm all of a sudden? It wasn't the warmth of the alcohol but something else. Something he wasn't entirely comfortable feeling right now. Getting up, he wanted to leave before the woman could tempt him any further. He felt the nuts and bolts holding his emotions together threaten to break. Shaking his head he sluggishly moved towards the door, when the woman stood up after downing two shots of 151 proof rum and immediately swayed right into Ranma. Ranma caught the woman and looked at her preparing to put her in her place when he saw something that froze him. Her eyes were so familiar, he knew exactly why she was at the bar. He saw the same eyes when he looked into the mirror four years ago. The pain, the unspeakable tortures she must be enduring right now. He could not leave now. Never has he seen such honesty from someone's eyes. The warmth in his body increased tenfold as he helped the woman back to her seat and sat back down and stared at the woman. She looked away and ordered a drink. Turning back to his drink, Ranma poured himself another glass.   
"What did he do?"  
Startled Usagi looked to the man next to her. He seemed oddly familiar but she brushed it off as she heard his question. How did he know? Looking to the man, he seem to honestly want to help her. "He betrayed me." Refraining from crying, Usagi took the drink placed in front of her and drank it quickly. Normally she didn't like alcohol due to the taste, but right now she just hoped it could help her forget what she just heard and saw.  
"Oh? Tell me about it."  
_________________________________________________________________________________________  
End of Part 1 


	3. The Morning After

The knock on the door sounded like titanium spikes were being hammered into his head. Whoever was at the door had better have a good reason for waking him like this. The unfamiliar dry mouth plagued him she began to awaken. Moving his tongue around and smacking his lips together, he began to relieve himself of the horrible torture. This was the reason he did not drink. Rubbing his eyes, Ranma blearily looked up at the ceiling. What happened last night? He did not remember much besides drinking himself into a stupor and listening to someone. Shaking his head, he tried to clear his mind to remember what happened last night. Moving his wrist to his face, he looked at the time. It was almost 3 in the afternoon, covering his eyes with his wrist he tried to think about what he may have needed to get done. After running through mental list, he realized he did not have any important issues to address today. However, the knocking continued. Pivoting his head he cursed at the offending door.  
  
"Who the fuck is it? I am trying to sleep!" Immediately he regretted it as a dozen more spikes were pounded into his head. Calming himself, he tried to control his emotions. Finally finding his center, he tried to balance himself. Semi-regaining his cool demeanor was about to get out of bed when a body stirred next to him. Freezing, he looked to his right. Snuggling against his bare chest was some woman. That's right the blonde woman from the night before. Trying to keep calm, he slowly reached down and lifted the sheets only to find that they were both nude and judging by the moistness of the covers he pretty much knew what happened last night. Finding his emotions of panic starting to rise, he realized that he was not wearing a condom and neither did he see any around them.  
  
"Ranma? It's Kurumi! Mom wants us to head out now! I'll come back in an hour!" Hearing his sister's voice, Ranma looked to the ceiling and said one word.  
  
"Shit." At that, Usagi groggily opened her eyes. Her pillow was unusually firm today, but at the same time it was very comfortable. Wrapping her arms around her pillow, she hugged it closer enjoying the smoothness of the cushion's skin. Suddenly her brain halted the euphoric state she was in. Smooth skin? Pillows did not have skin. Opening her eyes wide she realized her head was resting on a firm but bare chest. Slowly her eyes trailed up the collarbone to the neck and finally the face of the man. Oh my god! Usagi began to panic and opened her mouth to scream but found that she had an odd taste in her mouth and her tongue was stiff. Pushing the man away, she felt her nude body slide across the silk sheets of the bed. Nude! Panicking immensely, she struggled to get out of the bed. The man had now gotten out of the bed and stood beside her. Even though her head pounded and her vision was somewhat obscure, she could have sworn she hadn't even seen him move. Opening her mouth to scream, Usagi found it covered by a hand.  
  
  
  
"Quiet. My head is pounding and the last thing we need is you screaming. Please believe me when I say I will not hurt you." The man said calmly. Usagi looked at the man with fear in her eyes. However when she looked into his smoky blue eyes, she saw no malice in them. Slowly she nodded. "Thank you."  
  
  
  
After the man removed his hand from her mouth, she shook her head clear. "Do you remember what happened?" Gesturing to the bed, the man just stayed silent. Looking at the bed, she saw rumpled sheets and dark stains all over the bed. Looking down at herself and the man, she realized that they were both nude. With an 'eep' she grabbed the sheets and wrapped it around her body.  
  
"Yes well as you can see we didn't spend the night reading." Shaking her head, Usagi started to remember bits and pieces of last night. The bar, the man, Mamoru. With that thought her knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor.  
  
"Oh god. Mamoru, how could you?" Burying her face in her hands, she began to cry.  
  
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Meanwhile, Nodoka sat on the balcony and looked over the city. Today she would spend with her daughters and son. So long had she waited for Ranma to free some time up to spend with her and his sisters. He still refused to spend much time with Genma. After Ranma had defeated him in battle and declared that Genma had nothing else to teach him. However, the reason that she was rather vexed was the fact that he was supposed to wake up early and spend the entire day with them. Now it was already past noon and her son still had not awakened. Kurumi went up to the penthouse to wake her brother, but still had not returned. As much as she loved her son, she was quite angry with him at this moment.  
  
Bursting in the door, Kurumi announced to her mother. "Mom, Ranma is getting up, he needs some time to get dressed. I said we'd give him an hour."  
  
"Very good, we shall get ready as well. Have you girls decided where you would like to go?"  
  
"Where ever you would like to visit mother." Natsume said with a slight bow of the head.  
  
"Natsume, I've told you to stop doing that. I love you dearly, but I do find all this bowing and scarping annoying." Nodoka said sharply. Ever since she had adopted the two girls, Kurumi had blossomed into a talkative and happy go lucky girl. Natsume on the other hand continuously stayed by her side constantly trying to help her. She loved them both dearly, but she wanted Natsume to go out and have fun and live her life instead of acting like a servant to herself and Genma.  
  
"I'm sorry mother, I did not mean to offend you. Perhaps we should visit the shopping district. Kurumi has always enjoyed spending time there." Natsume said.  
  
"Shopping it is, but we all know that this will be like hell for your brother, he hates to shop." Nodoka said with a mischievous grin. "But there are plenty of prospects for him to find a girl at the mall."  
  
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Ranma looked around for his pants and found nothing. He was about to grab a towel from the bathroom when he saw the blonde woman fall to her knees and weep. Thinking back to the night before, he remembered her name and what they had talked about. Usagi. His heart seemed to go out to her, but he quickly pulled back. She was going through he same pain he had gone through. He knew exactly how she felt. 'Why?' was the most common question she was probably asking herself. Massaging his temples he quickly tried to clear his head. He didn't want to deal with this now. He just needed to get rid of this migraine and figure out what to do. Granted he could just throw her out of his apartment, he just couldn't risk the possibility that the media would get their hands on this and run amuck with his image. Pushing all thoughts aside, he realized she was sobbing into the blankets. Rolling his eyes, he knelt down to her level and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
"Why are you wasting your tears?" Ranma wanted her to shake her hysterics so he could have a rational and calm talk with her. Seeing that she wasn't responding, Ranma sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Listen why don't you take a nice long shower or bath, we both stink but you need to get this off of your mind. After you do that I need you to not think about this Mamoru character. Can you do that?"  
  
Usagi looked up with tears stained eyes and shrugged off his hand. She seemed angry with him. "Forget about him? We were destined for each other. This shouldn't have happened!" Usagi started to stand and her voice was becoming shrill. "We were supposed to be married and be happy together. Do you know what that's like to know that there is someone out there waiting for you? That when the time came there was someone you could settle down with and you were both soul mates? I've lost that! I- I- just don't understand!" With that she collapsed into a heap. Shaking his head, Ranma almost chuckled. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he didn't have time to divulge in it now. Right now he had to make her realize a few things. Putting both hands on her shoulders, he hoisted her to her feet even as she struggled.  
  
"Listen, there is nothing you can do right now. Nothing. What is past is past. You can't change it, and even if you could it would have been better than finding out years down the road when the pain would be even greater. Cope with this whichever way you choose to, but if you continue on this path of self-pity you may never rise from it. If that happens you will be a useless husk. You want to let this Mamoru guy win? Stand up for yourself! Destiny is a fallacy used to control people. You want to be a slave to destiny? Destiny is for people who cannot help themselves rely on destiny. Snap out of it! Calm down and figure out what you are going to do now. This helps no one. Now go take a bath or something and calm down." Ranma's last words were said with a commanding tone. By now he had raised his voice and lost his temper. Glaring at Ranma, Usagi pushed him away from her and walked to the bathroom. Slamming the door behind her, she locked it. Shaking his head, Ranma tried to shake his anger from his head. He had never lost his temper in a long time. Somehow this woman just seems to make his blood boil. Finding his center again, he asserted his iron clad will to calm himself down.  
  
Suddenly the vid-phone rang in the living room. Walking out of the bedroom, Ranma noticed that the entire room looked like a hurricane blew through it. Making a mental note to call the cleaning crew, he pressed the answer key on the phone. An image of his partner appeared on the screen as he did so.  
  
"Yes Nabiki? What do you want?"  
  
"Well I know today is your day off but... well, well, well, wild party at your place last night?" Looking around the room Ranma just massaged his head and waved for Nabiki to continue.  
  
"I don't need your comments on my day off. Now what do you want?"  
  
"Well, I am about to fax you that list of girls and their biographies faxed to you. Why don't you go over them with Auntie and your sisters? They can pick someone out for you. You need to bring one of them to the gala this weekend. The press will be all over that." Nabiki said while signing some papers.  
  
Pausing, Ranma wondered what Nabiki was talking about. Did she already know? "Girls? What are you talking about?"  
  
With an annoyed look, Nabiki yelled at her partner. "Ranma! You promised you would pick a girl to pose as your girlfriend for your public appearances! Don't back out now!"  
  
Remembering his promise, he grimaced at this and nodded. "Alright, send it over now, I look over them." Massaging his temples again, he turned on the water heater.  
  
"Ranma? Are you ok? You seem unsettled." Peering over her desk, she tried to get a better look at Ranma. "Are you nude? Why are you nude?"  
  
Opening a new tea canister, he took out a cup and sprinkled some tealeaves into the cup. "I'm fine. I just have something to deal with."  
  
"Something to deal with? What is it? The Phoenix? Has Saffron sent an assassin after you?" Nabiki began to worry as millions of ideas flew into her head.  
  
Ranma looked straight at Nabiki with a look that conveyed to her to drop the topic. "No, it's just something I need to figure out. I-"  
  
Suddenly a still blanket clad Usagi stormed into the room. "You know what? You know nothing about me and you know nothing of what happened to me last night! I don't know how you could make suggestions about what I should do with my life? Who are you to tell me what I should think or do?"  
  
There was silence for a minute, until Nabiki started yelling over the vid-phone. "Who the hell is that? And why does she have a blanket wrapped around her? Ranma? What the hell is going on?"  
  
Turning to Usagi, Ranma crossed the room in a split second. Towering over her he looked her straight in her eye as she stared defiantly back. Ranma looked at her with his anger but she did not yield as she stared back with a daring look. After well over a minute and Nabiki yelling at them over the phone. Ranma smirked.  
  
"At least you aren't sobbing or whining." Usagi looked confused for a moment as Ranma continued. "It's good to see you've come somewhat out of that self-pitying pathetic mess I saw in the bedroom."  
  
Shock and anger returned to Usagi's eyes as she slapped Ranma solidly across the face. Turning on her heels, she let out a frustrated yell and stomped back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Rubbing his face, Ranma grinned. He felt such a rise of emotions every time he spoke to her or even when he was around her.  
  
"Nice to see your charm with women haven't diminished over the years Ranma." Turning back around Ranma faced his partner. Nabiki had an amused look on her face now. "So what are you planning to do about this? You know if the press finds out about this you're image will be slandered even more."  
  
"I know, I know, I have to figure out what to do." Sitting down, Ranma began to rub his temples again. What was he going to do? He couldn't just let Usagi run free. Maybe if he gave her money, she would leave this alone, but the problem was that she didn't seem like the type to take a bribe.  
  
Suddenly Nabiki's voice penetrated through his thoughts. "Ranma? What is that on your finger?"  
  
Not understanding, Ranma looked at his hands. The sunlight that came through the window caused a small glare on a small band of metal on his finger. Staring at it for a bit, he stood up and walked towards the bedroom door. Perhaps it was just a ring. Perhaps they weren't actually married. Just then he saw it by the front door, a piece of paper that looked notarized. Slowly walking over to the paper, he had a dreaded feeling in his stomach.  
  
"Ranma? What are you doing? Where are you going?" Nabiki asked as Ranma walked out of the vid-phone's line of sight. Ranma slowly picked up the paper and looked at it. There it was, his name and Usagi's name right next to each other. After all this time, avoiding marriage, being denied marriage, and forsaking marriage, he was actually legally married. He didn't know how he felt about this. For the first time in a long time he actually started to panic. He was married to a complete stranger, whose intentions he knew nothing about. He knew he couldn't get the marriage annulled because they had obviously had sex. Shaking his head, Ranma walked back in front of Nabiki while still staring at the document in his hands.  
  
"I'm married." Ranma sat down on the couch with a thump as he tried to process this information.  
  
"You're what?" Nabiki exclaimed. "To that girl who was just in here? How did this happen?"  
  
"I don't remember." Shaking his head, Ranma looked up at Nabiki and walked towards the vid-phone. "Nabiki I have to go and speak to Usagi, I'll call you as soon as everything is sorted out."  
  
"But-" Ranma quickly cut Nabiki off as he disconnected his vid-phone. Walking to the bedroom, he saw Usagi on the balcony connected to his bedroom. She was still wrapped in a blanket as she stared out at the city. The wind whipped at her hair tossing it about and the sun shone down on her making her skin shine and her hair seemed to glow. From this distance, Ranma caught himself. She was not just beautiful, but heavenly. Ranma felt an odd pounding in his chest but he quickly squelched it and opened the balcony door.  
  
Usagi glanced back at him as he walked onto the balcony. She ignored him and continued to look out into the city. She smiled a bit, walked towards the edge of the balcony and let the blanket go. Ranma took a sharp breath, as she was completely nude under it all. After about a few minutes of silence, she spoke.  
  
"You're Ranma Saotome the multi-billionaire right?"  
  
"I see you recognize me then." Ranma said as he walked towards her position slowly. After a few moments of silence she spoke again.  
  
"You know I came to America so I could find myself. I needed to live on my own and learn to be independent. Mamoru was so angry when I told him about this. But I had to leave him I needed to be free. He finally said he understood, and we made a pact. I would come here for as long as I needed to, and he would let me find myself. He said he understood that I needed to fulfill certain needs before we were to be married. However we promised each other to keep true to each other. We spoke to one another once or twice a year when he wasn't busy and I wasn't busy. I haven't seen him in over four years, but I waited. Mamoru said he would wait for me forever. We were destined to live happily ever after. Now I don't know. Nothing is making any sense. Mamoru has betrayed me. What is the rest of my life to be?"  
  
"Usagi, listen, you need to sit down. I need to tell you something." Ranma said as he pulled out one of the chairs on the balcony.  
  
"I wouldn't expect you to understand what I'm going through. After all, what's a dumb blonde to you the great Ranma Saotome? Why would you care about my problems and why would you care about me. I could jump off this roof and you probably wouldn't even care. I've read about you. You are a cold-hearted man Ranma Saotome." Usagi said as she turned to look at him.  
  
"Well I have to care about your well being now. We're married." Ranma hoped that this would shock her out of her self-loathing. Usagi looked at him sharply as he held up his left hand and the marriage certificate. Her emotions already in disarray, she looked down at her own hand and noticed that there was a simple wedding band there as well. It was true. At that point her mind shut down as she considered the implications of this revelation. The last thing she remembered was feeling weightless as she fell backwards right off the edge of the balcony.  
  
Ranma ran as fast as he could to the edge of the balcony but Usagi was already too far for him to pull her back in. Diving off the edge, he grabbed onto Usagi with one hand and with the other hand he grabbed onto the edge of another balcony. Hoisting the two of them up onto the balcony he quickly gathered Usagi into his arms and shook her a bit to see if he would get any response. She groaned a bit as Ranma breathed out a sigh of relief. He had almost not made it. Leaning back he rested against the metal gate of the balcony.  
  
Suddenly her heard someone clearing their throat as Ranma looked up and saw Kurumi and Natsume crowding around the door of the balcony. They each had a perplexed look on their faces. Leaning back even more into the gate, Ranma sighed. It was going to be a very very long day.  
  
Usagi opened her eyes to stare at a blank ceiling. Suddenly she remembered falling over the side of the balcony. Sitting up she felt around and didn't feel anything that was broken or missing. Looking around at her surroundings she was in a hotel room but it wasn't Ranma's room. Perhaps she had just dreamed it all? Pushing her hair back she felt a cold band of metal brush against her forehead. Looking at her hand she saw the wedding band. Realization crashed into her as she realized that it wasn't a dream. All of a sudden there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Usagi? Are you awake now?" It was a female voice. Gathering the blanket around herself, she wondered who it could be.  
  
"Yes, yes I am." With that the door opened and a young woman about her age walked in. She had short brown hair that was hung to her shoulder, and she was wearing a nice skirt and top. Usagi felt a bit self-conscious when she saw the girl. She had a lithe build, yet walked with an uncanny grace, to top it of she had a round and cute face many men lingered for.  
  
"Hi there, I'm Kurumi Saotome. Ranma's my older brother. My mom asked me to give you something to wear since I'm the closest in size to you."  
  
Feeling a bit more at ease, Usagi nodded and loosened a bit. "Thank you."  
  
Kurumi placed some underwear and an outfit on the chair near the door. "There's a bathroom right next to you if you want to freshen up. When you are finished dressing and ready to come to room 811, mom wants to speak with you." Bowing slightly Kurumi left the room and closed the door.  
  
Usagi slowly got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She was still very confused about everything that was happening. First she finds out that her Mamoru was no better than a liar. Then she is treated horribly by Ranma Saotome, who is now married to her.  
  
Turning the water on, she steps into the shower and relishes the feeling of the steaming hot water. Picking up a bar of soap, she looks at her hand and the band, which now adorned her ring finger. Around her neck is still her locket that she had from the moon kingdom. She opened it and listened to the song as she reminisced about the times when she was Princess Serenity. Clenching the locket in her hand she wishes for Princess Serenity to rise to the surface. Her Princess Serenity personality always seemed capable of dealing with any problem. After several minutes, Usagi gave it up and looked at the locket in disgust. Tearing off from her neck, she flung it away. Kneeling down in the shower, she began to sob once again. Nothing would ever be the same. She just couldn't forgive Mamoru this time around, and her Princess persona seemed to fail her. Tears fell from her eyes as she hoped the sound of the shower would drown out her sobs.  
  
  
  
Stepping out of the shower, Ranma quickly dried himself as he boiled off the water by raising his battle aura a bit. Opening his dresser, he looked through it for something to wear. Sensing someone at his bedroom door, he quickly opened it and caught his sister Natsume who was leaning on the door. She quickly stood up and blushed at his nudity. However unabashed, he just went back to picking out some clothing. Natsume cleared her throat a bit shuffled her feet a bit.  
  
"So where did you meet her?" Ranma looked at Natsume as he put on some boxers and pants.  
  
"At a bar, she wasn't doing too well."  
  
Surprised, Natsume started pacing around the room. "Oh... so are you two really married?"  
  
"Yes." Ranma started buttoning his shirt as he looked in the mirror. Natsume stopped her pacing and looked at Ranma.  
  
"Do you love her?" Ranma looked up at his sister. Eyeing her carefully, Ranma ignored the question and walked out of the bedroom. Natsume chased after him and grabbed his shoulder from behind. Ranma turned around and stared at her dead in the eye.  
  
"I gave up love a long time ago." Natsume flinched a bit and nodded.  
  
"Then what are you going to do about the current situation?" Adjusting his shirt a bit, Ranma looked ahead for a bit and gained a mischievous grin as he turned to Natsume.  
  
"That's a secret!"  
  
  
  
Nodoka sat on a chair in her room staring at the wall, her back ramrod straight and chin held high as she contemplated the current situation that was brought about by her son. She could not fathom what he was thinking when he married that girl. She hadn't seen her son's new wife yet, but the way Kurumi described her she seemed like a small girl. Her first instinct was to call their lawyer and get this whole thing resolved. However Ranma forbade it, citing that Usagi was not a bad person, but in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nodoka loved the fact that her son was so manly that any woman in the world would love to be with him, but for him to sleep around was preposterous.  
  
"Mother?" her son's voice cut through her thoughts. Dressed in a simple button down shirt and khakis, her son was simply the pinnacle of manliness.  
  
"Son there is much we need to discuss."  
  
"Would one of them be the fact I am married now?" Ranma said with a grin. Nodoka raised an eyebrow at that. Her son hadn't cracked a smile on his face in six years.  
  
"This is not funny, this girl that you married, do you even know who she really is? She could be after you for your money!"  
  
"I have spoken with her this morning and she doesn't seem the type to do that. Besides I think this can work out to my advantage." Ranma said as he began pacing around the room. "Think of it, the press is always criticizing me for not having a partner of the opposite sex. Usagi doesn't seem like she would take advantage of the situation, and I can dispel all rumors by saying that we have been dating for a while before we got married. The reason I hid our relationship was because I did not want to put her into the spotlight. Not only would this paint me as a 'settled- down' man but also a compassionate one at that."  
  
Shaking her head, Nodoka couldn't believe her son wanted to go through with this sham of a marriage. "You understand that you will have to also convince this Usagi girl to go along with the idea right? What makes you think that she will go along with this?"  
  
"I know exactly what she is going through, I am pretty sure I know how to convince her." Ranma said with a determined look.  
  
  
  
Drying herself off, Usagi looked in the mirror and wondered what was wrong with her that would drive Mamoru to take pleasure in other women. Staring at the foggy image in the mirror, she wondered what would happen now. Glancing down at her hand she wondered what Ranma would do. They couldn't stay married so he would probably pay her off and ask that she never spoke to the press about this. Frowning, she thought of the raven hair man and how he was so frustrating. Yet there was something about him that made her pause about hating him. He seemed hurt and almost compassionate in some ways. She wondered what his life was like to have such a look of pain in his eyes every time he looked at her. Running her finger around the metal band, she wondered what her life would be like if she were with Ranma? Probably filled with riches and mountains of anything she wanted, but what of Neo-Crystal Tokyo? Will it exist now that it seems that Mamoru no longer cares for her? She could still be Queen but who would be her king? Perhaps she should forgive Mamoru, then they could move back to Japan and be happy there. Start over with a brand new relationship.  
  
Shaking her head, she knew it could never be. She heard Mamoru, he had wanted Anna as much as she wanted him. There was no love it was just sex, but they had made a pact that they would not give their purity to anyone else but each other. Besides if he could know Anna for just a few hours before bedding her down without a second thought on his mind, then what's to say he hadn't done it many times before?  
  
Walking into the bedroom she began to dress herself. Mamoru had betrayed her and she could not put on a happy face and forgive him, not even for the fate of a kingdom. She would rule by herself if necessary. He had his chance and he blew it. He thought that she needed him? She would show him! She would move on with her life and not have a second thought on her mind. Mamoru could see just how much she needed him. Nodding in affirmation, Usagi proceeded to dry her hair. Placing her hair into her pigtails, she stopped. She could not go back to that hairstyle, that was the past and the past was now dead, she would have to changer herself if she were to move on. Sighing, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and left the bedroom.  
  
  
  
Sitting in a large chair, Ranma contemplated his situation. He would use this whole misunderstanding to his advantage. First he would have to convince Usagi to agree to his plan. By what he has seen she seems like the type to play along as long as he watched what he said. After all she could benefit from being his wife. He would help take her mind off her current situation and perhaps she would see that she didn't need to love to live.  
  
Glancing up, he saw his mother sitting in another chair with her hands folded in her lap, back ramrod straight, and chin pointing up. Just like the noble woman she was brought up to be. Next to her, his two adopted sisters sat. Kurumi was flipping through a fashion magazine of sorts and Natsume sat with in the same position as his mother with the family katana in her lap.  
  
Smiling internally, Ranma looked at his family. Although he thought emotions were unnecessary, there were a few that he did accept. He did love his family because that was who he lived for, the survival of the Saotome clan. Ensuring that in generations to come the Saotome clan will always have security.  
  
Suddenly there was a knocking at the door. Looking to the door his mother nodded her head to signal Natsume to open the door. As his sister opened the door to allow Usagi to enter, Ranma carefully watched his mother. For a moment his mother just stared at Usagi, and Usagi stared at his mother. Suddenly there was look of recognition in each other's eyes.  
  
"You!" The two women said in unison. Surprised, Ranma wondered how they knew each other.  
  
"You are the woman at that gala!" Usagi said quickly.  
  
"Yes I am, how have you been dear?" Nodoka responded with tenderness in her voice.  
  
"You told me I should take a break from my boyfriend! And now he is gone!" Usagi exclaimed as she walked to his mother and stood in front of her.  
  
Nodoka looked at her with surprise "Well dear I did say that but I also said that if you two were really meant to be with each other then there should be no problems getting back together."  
  
Usagi looked at her and wanted to scream at her but just broke down in tears. Sinking down to her knees, she began to cry. Nodoka looked at her with sadness and gathered the weeping girl closer to her and placed Usagi's head in her lap. She gently stroked the girl's beautiful blond hair.  
  
"It's not fair, we were meant to be with each other forever!" Usagi said over and over.  
  
"It's ok dear, sometimes things just don't work out. It is all part of our life experience." Nodoka said as she patted the girl on her head.  
  
Recovering from his sudden surprise, Ranma cleared his throat. Attracting the attention of his mother and his teary wife, he stood and grinned.  
  
"Mother I would like you to meet my wife, Usagi Saotome." He said as he addressed his mother and gestured to the teary eyed girl kneeling in front of his mother. "Usagi, this is my mother, Nodoka Saotome."  
  
There was a brief moment of silence when realization dawned once again in their eyes.  
  
"You're his mother?" Usagi said with disbelief. His mother nodded her head and helped the girl into a seat beside her.  
  
"I'm assuming that you are my son's wife then." She said with a resigned look in her eyes.  
  
"I- " Usagi looked to Ranma and back to the older woman. "I was married to Ranma, but only accidentally!"  
  
"Yes, well I heard the story from my son earlier. I'm just a bit surprised that it would be you." Nodoka confessed.  
  
"Yes well... this wasn't exactly planned." Usagi said "But we need to get this cleared up I can't be married. This just isn't right! I don't even know your son! He doesn't know me! We've only known each other for a day!"  
  
"I understand and I am inclined to agree with you, but my son wants to discuss this." Nodoka said nodding her head towards Ranma.  
  
"Yes, well... Usagi, I have a proposition for you." Ranma began.  
  
"I won't tell anyone." Usagi said in a quiet voice.  
  
"Excuse me?" Ranma asked a bit bewildered.  
  
"I said I won't tell anyone that we were married. As soon as we get this marriage business annulled I would be more than happy to go our separate ways." Looking at Ranma, Usagi spoke with a bit of anger in her eyes.  
  
"Well, I'm afraid that's unacceptable." Ranma said as he walked over to a table and poured himself a glass of orange juice.  
  
"Then what?" Usagi asked not understanding why Ranma would disagree with what she had said.  
  
"Perhaps I should start at the beginning. Please take some breakfast because this may take a while to explain." Gesturing to the table of food. Usagi shook her head and refused the food. Shrugging Ranma continued. "As you know I am a very rich man quite a bit of fame. Being such a famed man, I am in the public eye quite a bit. In the past years I have not had much problems with the public. However recently, my personal life has been under attack by the press and the public regarding my marital status. I choose not to pursue any type of relationships with women due to my own personal beliefs that a man cannot do his best if burdened with either a physical or emotional relationship with a woman, except with family of course."  
  
"And where do I fit into all this?" Usagi asked not liking where the explanation was headed.  
  
"Well, I would like for us to continued to be married. In this I would gain a wife so that the press would cease their constant bantering about my social life. All you have to do is attend public functions with me, cease your pursuit of relationships with other men, and live with me." Taking a sip of water he went on. "Now should you decide that you want to pursue other men, we can then get a divorce down the line and you could live your life and I could live my life. That is what I get out of the arrangement. What I am offering you is a chance to recuperate from your ordeal. I know what you have been through with all your ex-boyfriend's betrayal must be devastating. What I want is for you to be able to live your life without the need to worry about monetary needs. Do what you have to recover. When you have recovered, then you can choose to leave this marriage."  
  
Usagi looked at Ranma and thought for a bit. Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and tried to process what was being offered to her and what was being asked of her.  
  
"What if I refuse?"  
  
"Well you could do that but the law says that we have to stay married for a period of time due to the fact that we have had sexual intercourse." Ranma said as he picked up a piece of toast.  
  
"I didn't know about that." Usagi said as she sighed. "I don't know, this is happening too fast! I don't know what to do!"  
  
"Do what you think is right. That is the only thing that my son can ask of you." Nodoka said as she placed her hand on Usagi's hand. "Personally I think that this would not be such a bad idea. I would like to help you move on if you would allow me to."  
  
Comforted by the older woman's words, Usagi wondered how Ranma's mother seemed so ... well, motherly. "How do you suppose we explain our marriage to the public and press? We can't just simply say that we got drunk and married can we?"  
  
"Of course not, we can just say we were seeing each other secretly and that we hid it from our family and friends." Ranma said as he put apricot jam on his toast.  
  
Usagi looked at Ranma with a bit less hostility than before and wondered if it was such a good idea to even consider this.  
  
"I am not so sure that staying with you would be such a help to myself. I've read things about you and how heartless you have been in the past."  
  
"Yes well, I can be heartless in the arena of business, however I swear to you on my honor that I will try not to hurt you in any way. If you read the articles I think you have then you will know that I do not throw that statement around at all. I mean it." Ranma said sincerely.  
  
Fidgeting a bit, Usagi stood up and paced about the room. After a few minutes of pacing, she stopped and nodded her head.  
  
"I agree, I will be your wife for now."  
  
"Excellent! Now Kurumi if you would start the process of having our people cement the story that Usagi and myself have been dating for the past few months, we can introduce Usagi to the press as my wife." Ranma said as he finished his toast.  
  
"Wait!" Usagi exclaimed and walked over to Ranma. Standing toe to toe with him she looked up into his eyes. "Listen if you ever hurt myself or any of my friends or family I will stop this arrangement, honor or not."  
  
Looking at Usagi, Ranma saw her confidence rising and slowly cracked a smile. "I understand and you have my word."  
  
Stepping back, Usagi nodded, but Ranma grasped her by her waist slightly. Usagi looked at him with a bit of anger.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Grinning, Ranma just tilted her chin up so that her face faced his.  
  
"You will have to go and shop for some new clothes and be briefed in the story that Kurumi and her team are creating."  
  
Nodding, Usagi stepped back and looked to Nodoka who was smiling at the couple.  
  
"Very well. I would like to go home right now to speak to my roommate."  
  
"Of course, Kurumi you go with Usagi. I want the cover done by the time you get to her place is that understood?" Ranma said as he waved his hand towards his sister.  
  
"Of course Ranma." Kurumi said with a brief bow of the head.  
  
As she turned to leave, Ranma stopped Usagi and turned her back around.  
  
"Also you have to learn not to flinch every time I hold hands with you. I know this will take a bit getting used to. Be sure not to tell your roommate yet. I would like this to be a surprise if possible."  
  
"I will. Should I come back here afterwards?" Usagi said with a normal tone that held no more anger towards Ranma.  
  
"Yes, now go I have a few phone calls to make." Ranma said still grinning. "I will see you later tonight... anata."  
  
Usagi looked a bit startled but relaxed and nodded. "See you soon... anata." 


End file.
